Ohio restaurant reopens nearly six months after immigration enforcement raid

Amani Bayo

• Pancho's Tacos in Mount Vernon has reopened six months after a federal immigration raid.
• The restaurant closed last October after federal immigration agents arrested five people at the business.
• The raid was part of a wider series of ICE operations affecting central Ohio businesses.

Pancho's Tacos, a Mount Vernon restaurant that closed last fall after a federal immigration raid, has reopened.

The taco shop announced March 3 on Facebook that its Mount Vernon location is "officially open," nearly six months after federal agents arrested five people there during an enforcement operation.

The restaurant had been closed since Oct. 9, after agents with Homeland Security Investigations, one of the operational sections of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), executed a raid at the business. Federal authorities said at the time that five people taken into custody were in the country illegally.

The restaurant's owners posted on Facebook Nov. 2 that they planned to reopen soon and were hiring. However, the restaurant remained closed for a few months afterward and supporters organized a GoFundMe campaign that raised about $7,000 to help the business and its employees.

The owners were not immediately available for comment.

ICE activity increases under Trump administration

Since the start of President Donald Trump's administration in January, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been arresting more people around the country

In the 26-county area covered by the Columbus-area ICE field office in Westerville, the number of people ICE arrested during the first seven months of 2025 nearly tripled in comparison to the same period from 2024.

In December, two months after the taco restaurant raid in Mount Vernon, the federal government confirmed the launch of "Operation Buckeye," which led to a significant uptick in immigration enforcement in central Ohio.

Even before Operation Buckeye, however, restaurants and food businesses had felt the impact of growing enforcement actions. Following the December surge, some businesses reported a drop in business and additional challenges.

Trending reporter Amani Bayo can be reached at [email protected].