"In mid-January, I gathered my staff of 10 for a training session on what to do if ICE agents showed up at my restaurant. It came after days of hearing how concerned the team was following news of an increased presence of ICE agents in Portland. This is not the kind of information we, as restaurant workers, are accustomed to needing to know and relay. This is all so new. We're entering the unknown. And people are scared of the unknown."
"I personally know people, and have heard of many more, staying home because they are afraid of being harassed or picked up by ICE. I'm acquainted with people who have been taken, and I don't know where they are right now. My two children have said there are dozens and dozens of kids in their school not showing up because their parents are afraid for their safety. Everyone has been holding their breath to see what happens next."
"My restaurant is only two blocks from City Hall in downtown Portland. Scattered around our streets, I know there are ICE agents - they are there in plain sight - and it was understandable that my staff were worried about what to do if they knocked on our door. I had to support my staff by giving them some information and direction regarding what to do if one of the ICE agents showed up."
Andrew M. Volk, 42, owns Hunt & Alpine, a restaurant and bar in Portland, Maine. In mid-January he gathered his ten staff for a training on what to do if ICE agents appeared after days of increased ICE presence in downtown Portland. Staff expressed fear, with some employees and patrons staying home and nearby businesses closing because workers feared enforcement. He knows people taken by ICE and reports dozens of children absent from school. The restaurant sits two blocks from City Hall where agents have been visible. Staff learned agents can enter public spaces but cannot access private or locked areas without a judicial warrant.
Read at Business Insider
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