Latino organizers and human rights advocates say U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are detaining people in Rochester the day after two workers at a popular Rochester restaurant were apprehended.
Nupa restaurant said on social media that ICE agents arrested the two workers in the parking lot outside one of the business’ two locations. The restaurant said the employees may have been working under false documentation.
Reached Thursday, owner George Psomas declined to answer further questions about the raid or what steps the business took to check the workers' statuses.
Nupa has closed its north location on Civic Center Drive until further notice. Its second location, in the Crossroads plaza, will remain open.
Nupa has been a fixture in Rochester since 2009, with a menu featuring fast-casual Greek and Mediterranean food. The business is set to open a third location in Maple Grove in the coming months.
Organizers with the Rochester chapter of Communities Organizing Latine Power and Action (COPAL) say they were notified minutes after the restaurant workers were detained.
COPAL and other advocates protested ICE action Thursday at Peace Plaza in downtown Rochester near where other ICE actions have taken place, according to COPAL’s Director of Organizing Ryan Perez.
Perez said the group has heard of others detained in town in recent days, including someone apprehended at their apartment by federal agents posing as a food delivery service, and ICE personnel going into a hotel that also acts as a hospice Thursday morning.