The restaurant is urgently seeking new staff. Photo/Google Maps
A Baltimore restaurant has slammed the US government after more than 30 staff quit following a surprise visit from an immigration agent demanding employees' paperwork.
Gene Singleton, co-owner of the BoatHouse Canton restaurant, posted an open letter to Facebook on Saturday describing the "saddest day for the BoatHouse family" in its three-year history.
"Based on our Government's current practices of targeting the Hispanic Community, properly documented and potentially less than properly documented are all fearful of being separated from their families, many with small children," he wrote.
"Many went home to pack up and leave. This was a sad, emotional, tragic event." But he added that the restaurant's "policies and records are in compliance".
Singleton told The Washington Post an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent walked into the restaurant at about 3pm on Thursday and asked for the manager. The agent delivered a letter demanding a list of anyone who had worked at the restaurant in the past two years along with their employment eligibility forms.
"The guy was nice and polite," he told the paper. "There was no scene." But he said word quickly spread through the kitchen, and that evening a manager received a call from a chef. "He told him, 'All our people are really fearful. I'm not sure if they're going to come back tomorrow'," Singleton said.
The next day more than 30 staff failed to show up, leaving the remaining 90 or so to run the restaurant, turning away customers without reservations and serving a stripped-down menu.
"The other 90+ of our employees and managers rallied and have pulled through like champions and the team and family that they are," he wrote on Facebook.
He added that the restaurant was creating a "Heart of the House Fund" to "assist our displaced families with their transition".
"A portion of all revenues will be contributed to this fund," he wrote.
"Everyone is invited to come and enjoy the great experiences that the BoatHouse has become known for and support our Heart of House Fund. As a group, these people are some of the best I have ever come to know."
Responses on Facebook were mixed, with some praising Singleton as a "class act" and others vowing never to return. "You'll never see a dime of my money," wrote Ryan Joseph.
"Honest question here and not intended to be rude but were they legally authorised to work? Did they not have appropriate documentation?" asked Joey Freshwater.
Joseph Di Seta said people should "wake up and stop living in a fantasy where you think every place you step foot in does not have someone working who is an illegal".
"And there is a good chance some of these workers are here legally but still afraid," he wrote.
Some were not convinced. "I'm a legal immigrant," wrote Shane Mummery. "Why would any legal immigrant be afraid? What fantasy world are you in? People who have not broken laws have nothing to fear. Newsflash - there are plenty of restaurants who don't hire illegals ... you know why? They are law abiding."
Scott Ogden hit back. "This list of comments is a sad array of racism, anger, xenophobia and vile sentiments," he wrote. "Much of America, like the Oval Office and West Wing, have become an embarrassing s***show."
According to the Pew Research Centre, there were 11 million illegal immigrants in the US in 2015, with around eight million in the workforce, accounting for 5 per cent of the total population of those who were employed or unemployed and looking for work.
During the election campaign, Donald Trump campaigned hard against illegal immigration, but vowed to primarily target "bad hombres" with criminal records for deportation. But Trump's cancellation of Obama-era policies of lenience towards illegal immigrants with clean criminal records has led to a rapid increase in detentions and deportations.
In March, a group of five ICE agents sparked headlines after eating breakfast at a Michigan restaurant before walking into the kitchen and detaining three staff.
Sava Lelcaj-Farah, owner of Sava's restaurant in Ann Arbor, told local media the incident was "really sad" and "scares the whole community". "It's a very sad day here at Sava's," she said.
"These things really shake people up. We have a lot of people who have family roots here."