WASHINGTON D.C. (Headline News USA) (Copyright © 2025) – It started like any other Tuesday. Mid-morning prep, the quiet hum before the lunch rush. Then federal agents walked into Chef Geoff’s. They weren’t there to eat.

Around 10:30 a.m., a group of ICE officers in Department of Homeland Security jackets showed up at the popular West End restaurant—owned by D.C. restaurateur Geoff Tracy, who is also the husband of CBS Evening News anchor Norah O’Donnell. According to Fox 5 DC, the agents asked to review I-9 employment forms, part of a routine process used to verify whether businesses are hiring authorized workers.

The agents stayed for about an hour and a half. No one was detained. Still, the sight of federal agents in uniform combing through records at one of the city’s best-known restaurants was enough to send a chill through the kitchen—and across the city’s tight-knit hospitality industry.

Chef Geoff’s wasn’t the only spot hit that day.

Restaurants across D.C.—Millie’s in Spring Valley, Pupatella in Dupont Circle, Ghostburger in Shaw, and José Andrés’ Chang Chang—also received similar visits, according to Washingtonian. In most cases, agents asked for paperwork and left without further action. Still, workers and managers say the experience was unsettling.

At Millie’s, agents entered through multiple doors just as the restaurant was preparing to open for lunch. The manager told them records were stored off-site. They left without further confrontation, according to Eater DC.

There was no advance notice. No allegations of wrongdoing. No arrests. Just federal agents showing up at the door, quietly but unmistakably.

“This didn’t look like they were targeting criminals,” said D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who addressed the visits during a press appearance later that day. “It looked like they were disrupting,” she told Fox 5.

For restaurant owners, it’s hard not to see the optics. And the timing.

“This kind of disruption during business hours—during lunch, no less—is alarming,” said Shawn Townsend, president of the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington. “We’re concerned about the fear-mongering tactics we believe happened today,” he told Fox.

The immigration enforcement visits come amid what many believe is a reinvigorated federal push targeting undocumented labor in the food and service industries. A report from Migrant Insider suggested the raids are part of a renewed effort under current administration policies—though ICE has made no public statement confirming a broader operation in D.C.

Regardless, the result is the same: anxiety.

Some employees reportedly left through side doors during the visits. Others called out the next day. Even where no violations were found, the presence of federal agents can have a silencing effect—not just on undocumented workers, but on entire teams.

Claudia Tristan, a volunteer with Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid, said her group is working to distribute “know your rights” materials to restaurant workers across the city. “People see a badge and think they have to hand over everything,” she told Eater. “But unless there’s a warrant, they don’t.”

Tracy, who has built a reputation as one of the city’s most prominent restaurateurs, confirmed to multiple outlets that ICE requested employee documentation. He declined further comment.

It’s not lost on anyone that this happened at his restaurant. Tracy’s wife, Norah O’Donnell, anchors one of the most-watched national news broadcasts in the country. The quiet presence of ICE agents flipping through employment records at Chef Geoff’s raises inevitable questions about visibility, intention, and message.

Is this about paperwork—or headlines?

And for D.C.’s restaurant workers—many of whom have been holding up the local economy through a pandemic and staffing crisis—it’s another reminder that the industry runs not just on food, but on fear, resilience, and trust.

“We’re not just losing staff,” said one general manager who asked not to be named. “We’re losing peace of mind.”

Photo of Chef Geoff’s by daquellamanera, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr