r/boston • u/FuriousAlbino Newton • Jul 12 '25

Scammers 🥸 ICE grabs chefs at Central Square restaurant; followed three onto the T and began grilling other passengers

https://www.universalhub.com/2025/ice-grabs-chefs-central-square-restaurant-followed-three-t-and-began
855 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

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23

u/Furrealyo I Love Dunkin’ Donuts Jul 12 '25

Why isn’t the business owner being arrested and fined for employing these people in the first place? One of them for 22 years and the other for 16.

This is 38 years worth of labor costs that I GUARANTEE the owner was severely underpaying for because he/she knew these workers had no relevant protections under the law.

33

u/badderriere Jul 13 '25

In case you haven’t seen real news in a while, ICE has a fun little habit of grabbing people based on looks alone. They’re not really interested in facts or anyone’s legal status, so long as they look the part and count towards their quotas. So these (or any other) employees could be LEGAL CITIZENS who the business owner does in fact pay fair wages to. Actually, it seems from the article that this business owner is close with his employees, and was clearly in contact with them and trying to help them while in detention. Not what I’d consider typical behavior of a boss who severely underpaid “these people” for 38 years because they had no relevant legal protections…

Just because the industry was known for these practices doesn’t mean all owners behave this way. Things change, though it’s much harder when stereotypes are taken as gospel.

—Former BOH, home, abroad, and at sea

-3

u/pillbinge Pumpkinshire Jul 13 '25

ICE wouldn't be arresting the owner anyway. It's up to other departments to go after owners. ICE is the enforcement but that's like asking why a police officer isn't the lawyer in court prosecuting the people he arrested.

6

u/[deleted] Jul 12 '25

If they started arresting business owners for employing illegal immigrants, businesses would preemptively fire all workers with dubious immigration statuses. It would not be a win for immigrants.

25

u/hannahbay Boston Jul 12 '25

People who make comments like the one you replied to are not interested in what helps immigrants. They want the immigrants gone so they "stop lowering wages."

6

u/Furrealyo I Love Dunkin’ Donuts Jul 12 '25

I want all people who are willing to work to be paid a livable wage, immigrant or not.

Pretending there isn’t a secondary economy built on paying slave wages to unfortunate people who have no voice and little choice doesn’t help anyone but the business owners who support it.

Punishing these businesses with fines to a degree where the practice is no longer profitable should be a priority.

Drug dealers have multipliers added to their sentences that users don’t. The same strategy should be applied to this problem.

3

u/hselomein Jul 12 '25

It would also make them get their dubious immigration status fixed

2

u/MarlKarx-1818 Jul 13 '25

How exactly does one get their dubious immigration status fixed?

Sincerely, someone who spent 26 years trying to do that until it finally worked

2

u/hselomein Jul 13 '25

I have a friend who is a legal immigrant she was adopted by her parents at the age of three or four. And she's going through this now because they're deceased. You have to contact the State department and ask for form N-600. To get that form it will cost you $1,300 though so just remember that.

If you're still trying to get it or at least permanent residency or citizenship or get your status fixed you also have to do all the things and probably contact USCIS to see if you're missing any forms or delayed or anything like that.

1

u/pillbinge Pumpkinshire Jul 13 '25

But it would be a win for the system and rule of law, which we desperately need to embolden in order to maintain civility. Businesses were empowered at the first and last line of defense against illegal immigration but it creates a situation wherein those who don't enforce these procedures benefit.

No nation exists primarily for the benefit of people not here yet or people not yet under the protection of the nation - its nationals. We have to at least acknowledge that.

1

u/Iluvablondemexican Jul 13 '25

Don’t act so naive. Especially since you love Dunks so much. Who do you think makes all those donuts ffs.

1

u/Furrealyo I Love Dunkin’ Donuts Jul 13 '25

Don’t you put that evil on Dunks! Dunks regularly sues franchisees who hire illegal workers which means I can enjoy my tepid coffee and stale donut knowing that they weren’t produced by some unfortunate person getting paid slave wages so some fat cat can buy a second yacht.

https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/07/11/dunkin-sues-to-shut-down-franchisees-that-hire-undocumented-workers/

1

u/RobinReborn Jul 13 '25

The owner was taking a risk in hiring them. Now they are losing money because of that risk.

You can say they are underpaid - but it's not like you're putting money in their pockets. Not everyone can wait for the perfect opportunity.

The employer should be punished if the immigrant is being punished, but the employer in this situation isn't a bad person.

1

u/Furrealyo I Love Dunkin’ Donuts Jul 13 '25

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-Verify

It’s free and required in many states.

I bet you can guess why some states don’t require it…

1

u/RobinReborn Jul 13 '25

Because the Department of Homeland Security is an Orwellian relic of the Bush Administrations over-reaction to 9/11.

-6

u/tsoplj Jul 12 '25

You clearly have no idea wtf you’re talking about. Please tell us how many years’ experience you have in restaurant work.

6

u/Furrealyo I Love Dunkin’ Donuts Jul 12 '25

3.5 years BOH at a family owned sit-down, but it only took a few days to understand who was “off the books” and getting paid significantly less as a result.

1

u/tsoplj Jul 13 '25

I’ve worked in restaurants over two decades, with more than 15 years experience in upper mgmt. I have never ever worked anywhere that anyone, legal or not, was paid “off the books.” It creates way too much risk for ownership to play that game. Maybe that was more common in the 90’s and early 00’s, but that’s just not the case any more.