Three Chili & Chile's Taqueria workers were detained during an immigration-related raid at its original west Tennessee Street stand. The stand stopped serving days later, and owner Shannon Tenorio said the remaining staff quit soon afterward out of fear.
Raid Sends Staff Running, Owner Says
The taqueria stopped serving customers on Friday, days after the raid, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. Surveillance video recorded in the early hours of Sept. 25 and lasting just 20 seconds showed staff members running down West Tennessee Street as law enforcement chased them, per the outlet's reporting. Law enforcement reportedly ran a vehicle's license plate and attempted to pull over a Chili & Chile's staff member, who then pulled himself into the taco stand after seeing law enforcement behind him, the report said.
Two men and one woman were detained in the raid, and the detained workers came from Guatemala, according to the same account. Tenorio recounted the raid's events in a phone interview, saying the detained workers were good people trying to make a living and calling the situation unfair. The remaining employees at the west Tennessee Street location quit on Saturday, with Tenorio attributing their departure to harassment and fear.
Who Conducted The Raid Remains Unclear
The agency responsible for the raid has not been identified. The Tallahassee Democrat reported that ICE had a pending request for comment; the Tallahassee Police Department said it did not participate, and Florida Highway Patrol was seen with a cruiser at the scene. The outlet also reported that immigration agents had visited the stand before.
What a local-federal agreement establishes
A 2025 ICE agreement names the Leon County Sheriff’s Office as a participant in the 287(g) Task Force Model. The agreement does not establish whether sheriff’s personnel were involved in the taco-stand raid.
A Taqueria Rooted In Oaxacan Recipes Since 2018
Shannon and Marco Tenorio operated the taco stand at 5750 W. Tennessee St., a setup that includes two trucks and a trailer surrounding an outdoor seating area. Marco Tenorio is 62 years old. Chili & Chile's first opened in 2018 and built a following serving recipes from Oaxaca, according to the report. The business expanded in October 2025 with a second location inside Governors Square Mall, which now remains open with a downsized menu and two staff members, per the outlet's account.
Community Groups Mobilize Support
Chili & Chile's created a GoFundMe page for the detained workers' families, which had raised more than $10,000 toward a $13,000 goal, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. The fund is intended to cover food, housing, and other key family expenses; the GoFundMe stated that the families faced difficult and uncertain circumstances after the detained workers were absent. Community members have rallied around the affected families, and Tenorio said the outpouring of support has been overwhelming.
The Tallahassee Community Area Response Equipo, described as the Leon County hub for the Florida Immigrant Coalition, is hosting a rally at the taqueria's west Tennessee Street site, scheduled for Sept. 30 at 6:30 p.m. A flyer for the group called for a rally demanding ICE leave the community, the outlet reported. Separately, the Tallahassee Immigrant Rights Alliance held an emergency Barrio Walk starting at 5712 W. Tennessee St. on Sept. 28 at 6:30 p.m.
The raid follows a much larger enforcement action in the area: an immigration raid at a Collegetown student housing construction site on May 29, 2025, detained more than 100 people, according to the same reporting. One of the workers detained in the Chili & Chile's raid is being held at a state-run immigration detention facility in Baker County that has been nicknamed Deportation Depot, the outlet noted.
