Don't Look Away 👁️

People are being taken off the streets

May 18, 2025

Coffee farmers in Hawaii. Photo from the New York Times

We see horrible things daily in the news, but this week felt worse than usual.

If you could scroll past images of starving children in Gaza, you might have then seen headlines or videos of people being dragged from their cars and off the streets by ICE.

The two documented incidents of ICE agents taking people aggressively in front of their loved ones shocked me. If the rising fears of deportation haven’t impacted you or someone you know, this is a reminder that it is happening very close to you - the suffering is not someone far away. It’s happening close to home.

The first video is a woman being taken from the streets in front of her family, and the second is ICE smashing a window and dragging a man from his car, both taking place in Massachusetts.

According to the Washington Post, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s field offices have been told to make 75 arrests per day, and that “managers would be held accountable for missing those targets.”

As related to this newsletter, immigrants are the backbone of many service industries, but especially the food industry. From agricultural laborers working in fields for 10+ hours a day to restaurant kitchens, without immigrants, we don’t eat.

From Grub Street about New York City:

In the city’s restaurants, nearly 60 percent of the workforce is foreign-born, but that hardly tells the real story. The fact that the industry relies on undocumented labor is not so much an “open secret” as an indisputable truth. “I had a conversation with my chef, he’s Ecuadorean and he’s been working with us for 30 years, and he was like, ‘I guess I’ll just hide when they come,’” says one Jackson Heights restaurateur. “People in the neighborhood are talking about it. Agents are coming around, and people are scared to go to work.”

If you’ve ever had the thought that immigrants are “stealing our jobs,” please think again.

President Trump spoke loudly on the campaign trail about deporting violent criminals, but he has now changed his tune to say that all undocumented immigrants are criminals for having broken the law entering the country illegally and therefore are subject to deportation.

One account I follow, FlowerinSpanish, posted this quote from Anne Frank over the video I described above.

"Terrible things are happening outside. At any time of night and day, poor helpless people are being dragged out of their homes."

As for our restaurants, there is now an atmosphere of fear among the staff. From offering trainings on how to deal with ICE if they arrive, to flyers educating people on their rights, to having undocumented workers stay at home during these uncertain times.

There was a flurry of headlines yesterday about Kid Rock’s restaurants closing to avoid ICE raids, which is ironic as he is a staunch Trump supporter. Still, just like everyone else, he relies on undocumented workers to run his restaurant.

There was another piece this week about ICE invading remote areas of Hawaii for undocumented workers who harvest Kona coffee on the Island.

Just like how we have global supply chains, the flow of workers cannot be constrained to borders. When there is an opportunity to try for a better life, escape violence or a dictatorship, people are going to take it.

I am at a loss for what to do during these times, but my heart goes out to anyone living in fear of an ICE raid.

As Fany Gerson, Chef and owner of Fan Fan Doughnuts, said in her This is Taste episode,

All our staff are immigrants. Having someone in leadership not just lie but feed the lies and create hatred…It never gets talked about why so many people come here. They come here to have a better life, escaping a terrible situation, its not talked about how much they contribute to society, how much they contribute to the economy…The immigrants in this country make the economy in this country.
The majority of these immigrants are not criminals they are hardowrking, dedicated mothers, fathers, siblings and they are the most wonderful people. They were just trying to have a better life for their famiities and they contribute to society in only positive ways.

She references an organization, Mixteca, if you can donate.

Gems of the Week ✨

Reenie Karim was our guest at last week’s Know Your Food and she has a great philosophy about cooking plant-based for accessibility. Many plant-based dishes can be made from shelf-stable items in your pantry, and her goal is for more people to feel comfortable and confident in the kitchen. Check out her book Make it Plant Based!: Southern, which is part of a four-book series.
You MUST try this Tofu Shawarma recipe by Sarah Bond. It was my first time shaving tofu, and I’m into it.
I learned about
Kris Martins
, who recently published a Bean Zine called Le Legume - check it out.
Learning about Trump’s pick for Surgeon General, Casey Means, from Food Fix
We saw the movie Magic Farm by filmmaker Amalia Ulman, thanks for the recommendation from
Elvia Wilk
, we loved it.
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