Immigration officials and other law enforcement agencies were taking people into custody Thursday at two Emiliano’s restaurant locations in the North Hills and Butler County.
The operation was confirmed by Pittsburgh’s FBI field office.
“The FBI was conducting immigration enforcement operations in the Gibsonia area in support of and alongside our partners at the Department of Homeland Security,” Bradford Arick, a Pittsburgh FBI spokesperson, said in a statement.
Jaime Martinez, a community activist with the Pittsburgh-based advocacy organization Casa San Jose, was on the scene at the Richland location at Richland Mall and told TribLive about 12 people were arrested there.
Seven were taken from the restaurant’s Cranberry location, according to Martinez.
Officers from the Department of Homeland Security, local police and the FBI carried rifles and battering rams, according to Martinez.
“They scared everyone to death,” Martinez said.
Martinez said other employees from the Richland location who were not arrested reported property damage inside the restaurant and a fire that started in the kitchen.
Martinez told TribLive there were three fire trucks on scene around 12:30 p.m.
Martinez got a call around 11 a.m. that immigration officials were at the Richland restaurant. The operation started at Cranberry around the same time, he said.
A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security said he could not comment on any pending action but said information was likely to be available this afternoon.
Martinez said there were about 20 volunteers on hand at the Richland location to serve as witnesses and be able to document it.
“We’re here to stand in support of the people being detained, and bring our humanity to a situation that is not humane,” Martinez said.
Another immigration action occurred a week ago in Beaver County in which at least 10 people were arrested in the vicinity of Monroy Super Market, a store in Ambridge that specializes in Latin American, South American and Caribbean products.
In June, 14 people were arrested for immigration violations at Tepache Mexican Kitchen & Bar in Marshall.
Emiliano’s Mexican Restaurant and Bar, which opened in 2007, according to its website, also has locations in Bethel Park and in Pittsburgh’s South Side.