On the heels of the May Day / Immigration Rights march, agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raided a chain of taquerias in the Bay Area May 2.

ICE agents fanned out across 11 Taqueria El Balazo restaurants and detained 60 workers.

“It was not a random enforcement action,” stated Virginia Kice, western regional spokeswoman for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “We were gathering evidence as part of an ongoing investigation, and while doing that we did encounter 60 individuals who did not have authorization to work in the U.S.”, she said.

“I don’t think it is a coincidence that this happened a day after May Day. It wreaks havoc on the community,” she said, adding, “When they hit a popular taqueria with a series of raids it sends a message, and our message back is that we need immigration reform. These are people who are working and contributing to the economic health of our region,” she said.