Late last year there were a series of immigration raids across the country targeting the meat packing industry. And while in downtown NYC yesterday, NYU Republicans played “find the illegal alien” amidst protests, in Midtown Manhattan the government was seeking out undocumented workers, except they weren’t playing.

In a sweep across 17 states and the District of Columbia, immigration officials descended on popular eateries like Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood, arrested almost 200 illegal immigrants working for a janitorial company and filed criminal charges against its top three officials.

Here in NYC popular tourist spots in Times Square, like ESPN Zone, were targeted. This has many undocumented workers within the city on edge and has many companies who hire undocumented workers, paying them off the books in cash, trimming down their employee numbers. While it’s too early to tell the impact of these latest sweeps, the fact that they took place in major cities with huge immigrant populations is likely to impact how people live and work.

Via / The Chicago Tribune