In early February, Lizzie McCoy got word that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were patrolling a Whitehall neighborhood a few miles from her book store in Brentwood. She posted through her Blythe Books Instagram page to alert the community.
“Please check in on any neighbors you have who might not be able to leave their house in these conditions,” she wrote. “You’re always welcome to tag our store and we will do our best to spread any [sightings] we see.” Then, using an emoji of an ice cube, she said “[ICE] out of Pittsburgh!”
Responses ranged from thankful and fearful to upset enough to decide to unfollow, McCoy told Pittsburgh’s Public Source.
“To me, that’s really not important,” she said. “If I lose followers, but I let the community as a whole know that there’s ICE presence in Brentwood, at the end of night, I lay my head down and sleep. It doesn’t bother me.”
McCoy is one of many business owners using their platform to speak out against immigration enforcement policy amid an intense atmosphere in which residents often no longer accept neutrality.
Because of intense opposition to ICE by many in the Pittsburgh area, social media discourse has been rife with speculation about whether local businesses support ICE, but few if any have made a splash with vocal, outspoken support. Even businesses attempting to remain neutral have received heat.
ICE arrests in the Pittsburgh area multiplied rapidly after President Donald Trump resumed office, totaling at least 948 by October 2025, more than three times as much as the same time frame in 2024. Sometimes, federal agents target businesses for intense raids, as in August when agents stormed two Pittsburgh-region Emiliano’s Mexican Restaurant & Bar locations.
This makes it dangerous for Latino- or immigrant-owned businesses to speak out publicly against ICE, activists say, but all the more important for other businesses to do what they can to raise the alarm.
Casa San José Executive Director Monica Ruiz said business owners could be an important part of advocacy in these tense times.
“I can definitely call my elected official all day, every day, until I’m blue in the face, to say this sucks, I don’t want this here, but it’s a different message when it’s a business owner,” said Ruiz, whose organization advocates for the Pittsburgh-area Latino community. “… The advocacy, 100%, could be way more. They need to show up at these council meetings, borough meetings, city council, county council, school board, whatever. They need to be there.”
Choosing to speak up
Visitors to Creative Chem Co, a cafe and work space soft-launched late last year, won’t miss the whistles for signaling nearby agents, stickers with anti-fascist messaging and flyers with information about ICE.
“We’re pretty loud,” owner Marla Solnik said.
Creative Chem Co closed on Jan. 30 in solidarity with an activist-organized labor shutdown, with the full support of its staff, Solnik said. The cafe hosted a Feb. 27 fundraiser for Frontline Dignity, a group that helps community members respond to immigration enforcement.
“It’s an unprecedented moment, and it is a human issue,” Solnik said. “It is not OK to be pulling people off the streets. It is not OK to not be doing due process. It’s not OK to see violence like this happening in our communities, and I am not going to stay silent in these moments.”
Some local businesses who posted anti-ICE statements received a large, negative response online from supporters of ICE, particularly around the time of the labor shutdown. In at least one case, that spilled into threatening voicemails, emails and social media messages, according to the owner of a coffee shop east of Pittsburgh, who spoke anonymously with Public Source due to fear of reactivating this harassment.
Casa San José hosts training sessions for businesses to help prepare for potential visits from ICE. In a discreet environment, the organization educates businesses about judicial warrants and the rights of owners and workers. Though the local Latino community is generally educated about its rights, many feel afraid, according to Cristihan Amador, a community organizer with the organization who spoke with Public Source through a Spanish language translator.
For a Latino-owned business, “ICE OUT” messaging would be more likely to make them a target than provide helpful advocacy, according to Amador. That’s why it’s important for businesses not at risk of detainments to step up, he said.
Many businesses choose not to take a stand, and sometimes conflict comes along with that. After the high-profile ICE detainment and eventual release of Jose Flores, an employee of Oakmont Bakery, the business received criticism and, according to TribLive, harassment for not publicly opposing ICE. Others pointed to the bakery’s friendly interactions with Eric Trump in 2020 and JD Vance in 2024.
Owner Marc Serrao declined to discuss how local businesses relate to immigration enforcement when reached by Public Source.
A target or a megaphone
Some small businesses did not shut down on Jan. 30 for the labor shutdown, noting the loss of revenue due to snow storms. Some instead provided money to organizations like Casa San José and Frontline Dignity. Casa San José received about $10,000 that day, Ruiz said.
“That’s a lot of money in one day. I don’t know, I just thought it was beautiful,” Ruiz said, going on to discuss other measures by businesses. “I go into restaurants, I go into stores. The other day, I went into this piercing shop in the South Side, and on there, they had these little know-your-rights cards and why ICE is bad, and I was just like, it’s so great.”
Frontline Dignity also received money from businesses on Jan. 30.
“There are pros and cons to the general strike,” said Frontline Dignity Executive Director Jaime Martinez. “Small businesses have to stay open, and many times, for wages for employees, right, can’t afford to close. Others can, and they want to show solidarity in that way. So there’s no real judgment as to who is open and who is closed, but how are we showing up not just on the day of a general strike but every day to support our neighbors? I think that’s the real question, and Pittsburgh’s really good at that.”
Trace Brewing, known for its progressive advocacy, raised $300 for Frontline Dignity on Jan. 30, according to general manager Katie Rado.
“If we can grab someone’s attention with a printed flyer or a QR code, I think that’s really important,” Rado said. “Attending some of our fundraising events, which are always free, gives more access to that specific charity or anti-ICE movement or that’s creating a greater, stronger community.”
Aadam Soorma, head of marketing and guest experience at Trace Brewing, said this advocacy is part of being a good neighbor, which he sees as an essential quality of a Pittsburgher.
“I think a lot of the people you talk to in Pittsburgh embody that characteristic,” Soorma said. “I think of it more as a bit of a moral obligation to provide that space and be like, yes, you can thrive here.”
Matt Petras is a visiting lecturer of English at the University of Pittsburgh and a freelance reporter and can be reached at matt456p@gmail.com and on Bluesky @mattapetras.bsky.social.
This story was fact-checked by Rich Lord.
