ICE didn’t show warrant to detain 12 at Liberty restaurant, manager says. Was one needed?
Federal immigration enforcement agents who apprehended at least 12 employees at a Mexican restaurant in Liberty last week did not provide a search warrant before entering private areas of the business or arresting people, according to the restaurant’s manager.
General manager Yadira De La Torre, whose parents own El Potro at 116 Stewart Court in Liberty, told The Star Thursday that the agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a branch of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), did not show her or her parents a warrant at any point throughout their operation.
Bringing a warrant signed by a judge is one way for ICE officers or HSI agents to gain entry to private areas of a business. However, it’s possible for federal authorities to legally enter private areas without one, if they get permission from the business.
De La Torre previously told KSHB 41 that agents communicated with her father when they got to the restaurant around 11:40 a.m., saying they were looking for one person accused of committing a crime. She said a language barrier between her father and the agents complicated the exchange.
Clay County Sheriff Will Akin, who heard about the immigration enforcement from a friend and showed up to the restaurant to see what was going on, told The Star that agents told him they were seeking a child sex offender. He said he couldn’t recall if the agents had a warrant and said he did not have the authority to ask for that kind of paperwork.
A group of local immigration advocates and lawyers has been unable to confirm whether agents provided a warrant or any documentation proving they were searching for someone charged with federal sex crimes, according to Kansas City immigration attorney Michael Sharma-Crawford.
Spokespeople for the Kansas City offices of ICE and HSI have not returned multiple inquiries from Star reporters asking whether agents had a warrant to enter private areas of El Potro or warrants authorizing the arrests of any specific individuals.
Multiple federal agencies, including the Kansas City branches of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), told The Star they had no involvement in the operation. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) posted on social media on the day of the raid indicating they were working with HSI agents in the Liberty area but have not responded to requests for more information since.
As of Thursday afternoon, the Feb. 7 raid was not detailed in an ongoing list of press releases about ICE operations. Questions remain surrounding whether anyone that agents removed from El Potro has been charged with a federal crime, and where detained employees are being held.
Sharma-Crawford has also said that agents confiscated two boxes of employment papers from the restaurant, which employees and immigration officials have not confirmed.
Are warrants necessary?
Anyone, including ICE officers and HSI agents, can enter public areas of a restaurant or any business displaying an open sign. Access to private areas of a business, such as a kitchen or staff break room, requires a warrant signed by a judge or consent from the business because of the Fourth Amendment, according to the National Immigration Law Center (NILC).
When ICE agents got to the kitchen and staff areas of El Potro, De La Torre told KSHB, they compelled her to let them search the building and ask employees for documentation.
Once agents have gained access to a private space, they can arrest someone if they have either a warrant for that person or if they have probable cause to believe that the person lacks legal immigration status or that they committed a crime, according to the NILC.
Federal immigration authorities are able to arrest people who are in the country illegally regardless of their criminal record.
Federal authorities do not have to notify local law enforcement before immigration enforcement operations, but often choose to do so as a courtesy. On Feb. 7, HSI agents did not tell the Liberty Police Department or the Clay County Sheriff’s Office about planned immigration enforcement at El Potro ahead of the operation, officials told The Star.
Businesses’ rights
Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation (AIRR), a nonprofit serving immigrant communities in Kansas City, is coordinating a network of Kansas City area nonprofits and attorneys to track and respond to ICE activity in the metro. The group recommends that individuals who encounter immigration authorities stay silent or explicitly say they do not wish to speak under their Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.
Business owners, employees, managers, patrons or other visitors have the right to not sign documents presented by ICE agents, according to AIRR.
Immigration attorneys are able to provide legal advice for specific situations.
De La Torre said that her family has retained an attorney, who has advised them not to speak further publicly in regards to the Feb. 7 raid.
The Star’s Alecia Taylor and Taylor O’Connor contributed reporting.
