WESTBROOK – Westbrook’s municipal officers, a body made up of the City Council and the mayor, have renewed the liquor license for Fajita Grill, the Main Street restaurant raided by federal agents last month.

In September, the business was one of three Maine restaurants targeted by a series of coordinated raids by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The restaurants’ co-owners, brothers Hector and Guillermo Fuentes, were arrested on one count each of harboring illegal aliens, a felony, and engaging in a pattern or practice of hiring illegal aliens for employment, a misdemeanor. Both men have since made bail, and await trial in federal court on the charges.

In addition to the Fuentes brothers, ICE agents detained 10 other people from three different restaurants, including Fajita Grill. Of those people, eight now face federal charges of carrying false documents that showed them to be legal residents of the United States or having legal right to be working in the U.S. The other two people are being held on “administrative immigration violations,” according to ICE spokesman Chuck Jackson.

During Monday’s meeting, councilors asked the city’s attorney, Bill Dale, whether the raid and arrests had any bearing on the license hearing.

“The charges that have been made certainly are serious ones,” Councilor Brandon Rielly said.

Dale informed the council that convictions might matter, especially when considering the character of the license applicant, but since the charges have not been resolved, the raid and detainments cannot be a factor in the municipal officers’ decision.

“None of that applies here,” Dale said.

Rielly noted that the police department could also find no legal grounds for not endorsing the license be renewed, but cautioned that city officials, including Code Enforcement Office Rick Gouzie, continue to monitor the business to watch for further violations.

In the end, the municipal officers voted unanimously, 7-0, to grant the license, with Councilor Dorothy Aube absent.