Three Las Palmas restaurant workers were detained by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents Thursday morning in Pittsburgh’s Brookline neighborhood.
In a Facebook post, Las Palmas Supermercados y Taquerias confirmed the detainments, which took place near Las Palmas’ location at 700 Brookline Blvd.
“Good morning my people, with the bad news that they grabbed three of our workers this morning in the area of Brookline Boulevard,” the post reads. “Do not go out these routes … We will be supporting our workers … as much as possible.”
Jaime Martinez, founder and executive director of Frontline Dignity, said the three people were Mexican and Cuban, and they were detained on their way to work — “stopped in the middle of the street over by CVS.”
Frontline Dignity, an advocacy group for immigrants, posted a partial video of the encounter to its Instagram account, with the caption saying the incident took place at around 9 a.m. on the corner of Brookline Boulevard and Pioneer Avenue.
“We spoke to the families on site, and they were shocked, tears were shed, and we are working with partners to do what we can to help get the families the resources they need, as well as help the detained folks receive due process,” Martinez told TribLive Thursday. “We had about four volunteers on the ground that spoke to and accompanied the families, got information.”
In the video, he said ICE agents could be seen in two cars, a gray/silver car and black SUV, both with emergency lights on. A Las Palmas truck can be seen in the corner of the video, he said.
Martinez said ICE agents blocked off the truck so the workers couldn’t move it.
“(They placed) a middle-aged Latino man in handcuffs outside of the driver seat and then placed them into their own car,” he said. “And it seems that they also took the keys when they left, they parked (the Las Palmas truck) somewhere close and then they left with the keys.”
A local law firm working with at least one of the families could not be immediately reached for comment on the detainments or the three Las Palmas workers’ immigration statuses.
ICE officials could not be reached for comment Thursday afternoon.
‘Snatch and grab’
This ICE incident is part of “a pattern of immigration enforcement,” according to Martinez.
Frontline Dignity, along with other groups across the country, are calling them “snatch and grab operations,” where ICE agents grab people from their own cars and take them.
“(ICE agents) will pull people over or stop someone in their car or while walking on street or out in public and will simply snatch them, grab them, put them in their car and drive off,” Martinez said. “The issue … is that they’re happening within a matter of minutes.”
Because of the quick timeframe, he said the burden is placed more on ordinary neighbors to report activity.
“Our neighbors should be vigilant and know what resources to report,” Martinez said. “It was due to the courage of our neighbors that we were able to get (this) video.”
People can report incidents to Frontline Dignity by calling 412-536-6423.