Palatine cafe forced to close amid ICE visits; other eateries affected
Chicago-Area Restaurant Closing After ICE Raids Amid Immigration Crackdown
PALATINE, Ill. — A wave of federal immigration enforcement at Chicago-area restaurants has prompted one suburban business to shut its doors for good.
Judith Martinez and her husband, owners of Chappie’s Cafe in Palatine, say they’ve made the heartbreaking decision to close their restaurant after four years in business. The move comes after multiple visits from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents within the past month.
According to Martinez, ICE officers first entered the café several weeks ago, questioning customers from a local landscaping company who were eating breakfast.
“They were asking them for their papers, legal status, some identification,” Martinez said. “Their boss was with them, and I’m pretty sure if it wasn’t for him, they would have taken them.”
About a week later, Martinez said ICE agents returned — this time approaching the back door after finding the front door locked.
“They got out of their vehicle, and I asked, ‘How can I help you? Why are you here?’” she recalled. “They said, ‘I need to see your ID, passport, and your legal status in this country.’”
The agents left without making arrests, but word of their visits spread quickly. With nearly half of the café’s customers being Latino, Martinez says fear has driven business down dramatically.
“The business itself dropped income about 60% since this started to happen,” she said. “We don’t want to expose diners, customers, friends, employees, ourselves — it’s not worth it.”
Supporters have been stopping by to help before the café’s planned final day on Sunday, November 2.
“They’re really lovely people and they don’t deserve this,” said longtime customer Ray.
Meanwhile, another immigration-related arrest has rattled the local restaurant community. Around 9 a.m. Monday outside Metropol Bar and Grill on North Lincoln Avenue in Chicago’s North Center neighborhood, ICE agents detained 61-year-old cook Wilson Vera as he was arriving for work.
“They didn’t ask him any questions,” said his daughter, Johanna Vera, a Northeastern University student in Boston. “They just grabbed him and pushed him into the vehicle.”
Johanna said she learned of the arrest after tracking her father’s phone location and discovering it pinged from the Broadview Detention Center. Later that night, Wilson was transferred to a detention facility in North Lake, Michigan.
Wilson, who moved from Ecuador to Chicago in the 1980s, has lived in the U.S. for decades. His family said he is undocumented but has no criminal record and they fear he could now be deported.
Industry leaders say the stepped-up enforcement is devastating to small restaurants.
“It’s hurting sales, employees — our small independent restaurants are the backbone of every community,” said Sam Toia, CEO of the Illinois Restaurant Association.
As immigration operations continue under President Trump’s administration, many restaurant owners in the Chicago area say they’re now operating in fear — and some, like Chappie’s Cafe, are deciding that closing down is their only option.
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