Steve Smith, a conservative restaurateur who donated and voted for Donald Trump, was forced to close kitchens at three locations over the weekend so staffers could avoid Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
Managers reportedly told restaurant employees without legal citizenship status to go home during the primetime rush due to an increased ICE presence in the Nashiville area.
Since staffers without legal citizenship left, Smith was forced to close three kitchens at The Diner, Honky Tonk Central and Kid Rock’s Big Ass Honky Tonk Rock N’ Roll Steakhouse on a Saturday night.
According to Nashville outlet, The Scene, locations suffered through Sunday as several staffers did not return due to fears from employees who did not want to risk arrest by returning to work.
The outlet reported that staffers are still calling out leading managers to coordinate transportation for immigrant employees.
“We were already understaffed because of the ICE raids throughout the weekend,” an employee, who asked to remain anonymous to avoid retaliation, tells the Scene. “Then, around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, our manager came back and told anyone without legal status to go home. Events at the Ryman, Ascend, the Savannah Bananas’ baseball game all let out, and it was crazy busy. But there was no one in the kitchen to cook the food.”
Smith is a MAGA supporter who backed Trump in the November 2024 election despite his pledge to carry out large-scale deportations of migrants living in the U.S. without legal status.
It is very clear that Smith’s businesses rely heavily on employing undocumented immigrants to stay afloat.
Earlier this month, ICE and state troopers carried out a massive raid in Nashville which led to the arrest of 196 individuals.
Of the 196 arrests, 101 were undocumented immigrants with no criminal history, contradicting Trump administration claims that immigration enforcement has been targeted immigrants with violent criminal histories.
