Joey Berumen paced up and down Broadway Avenue outside Las Palmas grocery store Wednesday around lunch time under a blistering late-summer sun. He held a walkie-talkie while he glanced around the road. He was looking for signs of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Workers at the independent grocery store and adjoining taco stand were on edge Wednesday after agents they believe to be with ICE appeared outside the store twice in 24 hours. Employees say business is down, with community members deterred from shopping by the federal agents.
Workers with Casa San José were on the block earlier, taping up Spanish language posters with information on legal rights and other resources. Four or five legal observers from Frontline Dignity, which responds to support immigrants amid news of ICE activity, milled around the Las Palmas taco stand throughout the late morning.
Immigration enforcement appears to have increased in Beechview, a hub of Pittsburgh’s Latino population. An agent confronted Berumen Tuesday, and agents returned Wednesday morning, he said.
The ramped-up activity here is part of a nationwide ICE crackdown aimed at making good on one of President Donald Trump’s core campaign promises: to dramatically increase the number of people deported from the United States. In a statement in response to Public Source’s questions, ICE spokesperson Jason Koontz said the agency’s Beechview presence reflects “everyday” enforcement operations across the country.
“Citizens and legal residents should find reassurance in the presence of trained law enforcement officers removing criminals and illegal aliens from their streets,” he said.
Under Trump, he said, “if you enter the country illegally or violate your lawful status, you will face consequences. … We will find you, we will arrest you, and we will deport you.”
Las Palmas grocery store and taqueria. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh’s Public Source) 
Volunteers with Frontline Dignity keep watch by Las Palmas. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh’s Public Source) 
Staff members from Casa San José put up “know your rights” flyers in Beechview.(Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh’s Public Source) 
A sign barring ICE agents from entering unless they have a valid judicial warrant hangs in the entryway at Las Palmas. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/Pittsburgh’s Public Source)
“We got together and said you know what, we’re going to keep an eye out,” said Berumen, who said he is the store owner’s son. Employees now work in shifts keeping watch on the street from open until close.
He said business is “nothing compared” to before ICE enforcement increased, “and it will be [low] until this stops.”
Across the street, an employee standing outside the restaurant La Cocina de Betty said “not a lot of people come” when there is news that ICE is around the area. “I want our customers to be safe,” she said, with the aid of a translation app, adding that customers can order from the restaurant through apps if they don’t feel comfortable going out. She asked not to be named.
Monica Ruiz, executive director of Casa San Jose, said ICE’s scrutiny of businesses like Las Palmas is harmful to the community.
“Do you think this establishment doesn’t pay taxes? Of course they do,” Ruiz said. “That money pays for the T train, it pays for the roads, it pays for the schools. How is this good?”
She said her organization recently had to cancel a class that helps new mothers read to their children because participants were too afraid to attend.
Berumen said ICE’s attention toward his business took on a personal nature when agents returned Wednesday. He said one referred to him by name, despite him never introducing himself.
“He said, ‘I’m here, Joey, get out of the way, Joey,’ … There’s no reason to intimidate us. We’re not going to close down. We’re going to stay strong together.”
Editor’s note: An ICE spokesperson’s comment, received after initial publication, was added to this story.
Charlie Wolfson is the local government reporter for Pittsburgh’s Public Source. He can be reached at charlie@publicsource.org.
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