When Margaret Mary Gillespie opened Magpie’s Joy of Eating in January 2024 in the space of the former Thayer Bros. Deli and Grille in Joliet, she kept much of the former restaurant’s staff, many are immigrants.

All are in the United States legally - but “they are very fearful,” Gillespie said.

“They also have other jobs and they’ve watched the agents come in and take their co-workers away,” she said.

One staff member is a college student from South America, who, “doesn’t go anywhere without her papers,” Gillespie said. Her papers – meaning her passport – she said.

She said she could understand if they were criminals. But these are people “who have a right to be here,” Gillespie said.

“They work their tails off doing jobs most of us won’t do,” Gillespie said, “and work 17 hours a day to provide for their families...but they have to live in fear. These are hardworking people living in fear.”

According to the National Restaurant Association, the restaurant and foodservice industry is the second-largest private sector employer in the U.S., providing 15.7 million jobs – about 10 percent of the total workforce. The association’s April 2025 data brief reports that 51 percent of restaurant employees are minorities, including 66 percent of chefs, 62 percent of cooks, and 45 percent of managers.

Sam Toia, president and CEO of the Illinois Restaurant Association, said increased ICE activity and National Guard deployments in Chicagoland and nearby suburbs have “disrupted restaurant operations significantly, causing staffing shortages and other challenges.”

He added that these enforcement actions also affect customers. “The presence of ICE and the National Guard creates fear among diners, leading to fewer reservations, less foot traffic, and lower revenue for restaurants already struggling. Consumer confidence is critical, and this additional presence reduces business at a crucial time when restaurants need more support.”

‘There’s always the fear of the unknown’

Jamie Littell, owner of Moe Joe’s in Plainfield, said she hires mostly students. She has one college student with a work visa and another immigrant who is legal, along with the family members, Littell said.

“They’re here legally and have taxes taken out of their paychecks,” Littell said. “They work so hard for me, and they’re so sweet – but they’re not doing anything wrong. And I’m not letting anyone come in here and bully them. They’re good people that would die for me. So I would definitely die for them."

Littell described reports that ICE agents are “dragging people away” without due process or allowing contact with family as “terrifying” and “vile.”

“Before, there were laws and regulations, and people knew what was happening,” she said. “Now they’re just taking people for no other reason than they look suspicious.”

Repeated requests by Shaw Local News Network to the Department of Homeland Security for details on operations in Will County have gone unanswered. ICE has stated it targets individuals with criminal records or final removal orders.

Joe Poretta, owner of Valentino‘s in Ottawa, said, “we have nothing to worry about that I know of.”

Poretta said he only opened Valentino’s four months ago, and half of his staff are part-time and most work for area schools.

“It’s just a lot of local cooks and bartenders in town,” Poretta said.

Bill Dimitroulas, president of the Arkas Restaurant Group, which owns five restaurants and a catering company in Joliet, said most of the immigrants he’s hired are legal, have their paperwork, and have worked for him anywhere from five to 10 years.

Yet they’re still afraid and wonder, “What if they pick me up and ship me out for no reason?” he said.

“No one’s explained how it is, what to watch for or if there’s anything to worry about,” Dimitroulas said. “Nobody’s talking about anything. There’s always the fear of the unknown. They all have family and kids. So if they’re picked up for whatever reason, what happens to the family? I don’t think anybody should be scared if they’re doing the right things.”

He called the immigration crackdown “a mess for the state of Illinois.”

“On the one side we allowed immigrants - which is a good thing – and from the other side, we cannot really hire them and pay them legally," Dimitroulas said. “So how are these people going to live? It’s very rough to people. The government came down with a hammer.”

Dimitroulas said his understanding is that ICE is mostly targeting undocumented immigrants with criminal records. But undocumented immigrants are also “a big part of the restaurant industry,” he added.

“It affects them; they are afraid to go to work,” Dimitroulas said. “They hear ICE is going to be in Illinois or Chicago on this morning and they take off and go to another state to escape.”

Dimitroulas said the fear has made it slightly more challenging to retain some staff.

“But it’s not the end of the world yet,” he said.

Dimitroulas previously said he came to the “land of opportunity”– the U.S. – in 1996, after he couldn’t find a job in sound engineering. He said most immigrants from “all over the world” would become citizens if the government made the process easier for them.

For now, he said, many workers are simply hoping to be left alone to do their jobs.

“They want to stay and work and start a family,” Dimitroulas said. “They come with good intentions. If you help them, they will do it right.”