Immigration law enforcement agents reportedly followed employees out of the restaurant after they closed for the evening
Ariana Baio Friday 16 January 2026 (the-independent.com)
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Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers reportedly arrested three staff members from a Mexican restaurant outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Thursday evening, hours after the officers ate lunch at the establishment.
Around 3 p.m. local time, four ICE officers ate at a booth at El Tapatio, a family-owned restaurant in Willmar, Minnesota, located approximately 85 miles west of Minneapolis, witnesses told the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Witnesses, who took photos of the officers at the restaurant and videos of the arrest, said the staff appeared “frightened.”
Hours later, around 8:30 p.m., bystanders said they saw ICE officers arrest three staff members from the restaurant near Willmar Middle School and a Lutheran church. Witnesses claimed the officers followed the restaurant staff after they closed up for the evening.
Bystanders who witnessed the arrest blew whistles and shouted at the arresting officers, “Would your mama be proud of you right now?” according to the Minnesota Star Tribune.
It is unclear who the individuals arrested are or what the reason was for their arrests
The Independent has asked Immigration and Customs Enforcement and El Tapatio for comment.
Willmar is a city located in Kandiyohi County in central Minnesota. It has a population of around 21,000, according to the 2020 census. Of the population, around 40 percent are people of color, one-third identifying as Hispanic.
Thousands of federal law enforcement officers from the Department of Homeland Security have been sent to Minnesota to crack down on immigrant communities that the administration has accused of taking advantage of U.S. social services and has committed rampant fraud.
The immigration operation, known as “Operation Metro Surge,” has caused chaos in cities as the number of violent interactions between civilians and ICE officers increases. State-wide protests have been ongoing since an ICE officer fatally shot 37-year-old Renee Good in Minneapolis last week.
But even the heavy presence of federal law enforcement has rattled immigrants living in communities.
Immigration enforcement officers appear to be targeting locations where they believe undocumented immigrants may be working.
Earlier this week, CBS News reported that another Mexican restaurant called El Rodeo, located in the Twin Cities, was forced to close after ICE officers showed up. Although no arrests were made, the incident spooked some staff members enough that they’re reportedly too scared to come to work.
In another incident, an employee who legally worked at Pancho’s Taqueria and Mexican Cafe, located in Circle Pines, Minnesota, was detained after ICE showed up and waited in the parking lot, according to a GoFundMe. The restaurant later reportedly closed after the incident.
