Roughly 30 Chipotle Mexican Grill locations were visited by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Tuesday, as part of a nationwide investigation into the hiring practices of the restaurant.
Restaurants in California, the District of Columbia, Georgia, and Minnesota were visited, as well as elsewhere.
Robert Luskin, attorney for the Denver-based restaurant group, said, “They (ICE) spoke to employees and managers and in some cases served subpoenas.”
And though ICE spokesperson Cori Bassett said that ICE does not comment on ongoing investigations, she did say that “ICE’s comprehensive worksite enforcement strategy targets criminal aliens and employers who cultivate workplaces by breaking the country’s laws and knowingly hiring illegal workers,” adding, “ICE uses all available criminal and civil tools at its disposal, including civil fines and debarment to penalize employers who knowingly break the law and deter others from doing so.”
Luskin said that Chipotle was informed of the intended visits on Monday, and said they assured that “they would do their best no to disrupt. It was not in any sense a blitz. It was an effort to collect information which we are willing to provide.”
He added that he was expecting the investigation to end favorably for Chipotle.
