El Control Mexican Restaurant closed its doors on Tuesday and gave away its food after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raided the restaurant.
“ICE arrived and went straight to the kitchen to ask for Social Security numbers, work permits, and to ask all the workers to come to the kitchen,” explained Sheyla Gómez in Spanish, daughter of the owner of El Control.
Telemundo 40
Telemundo 40 Sheyla Gómez, whose family owns El Control Mexican Restaurant in Harlingen, Texas, talks with a customer outside the restaurant.
Gomez told Telemundo 40 in McAllen that the experience was devastating not only for the restaurant but also for her family.
“They took my mother, my stepfather, my older sister, and they took two workers,” she added.
With her family in custody, Sheila was left in charge of the restaurant and her younger sisters. She said she has had trouble finding people willing to fill the jobs needed to keep the restaurant going, including people with legal status.
Despite community support, Sheila said she is worried about her family’s long-term future in Harlingen.
“It’s something I see as difficult for my family to be together again. It’s something that might not happen. I’m getting used to the idea that maybe we’ll have to close down here,” Sheyla said in Spanish. “They’re taking the wrong people, people who are doing something for this country.”
Telemundo 40
Telemundo 40 The kitchen is empty at the family-owned El Control Mexican Restaurant in Harlingen, Texas, the family says, after ICE agents detained the owner and workers during a raid.
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