Woman Who Threatened to Call ICE on Taco Vendor Now Says She, Her Family, and Business Are Being Harassed

Francesca Ortega, the Santa Clarita business owner filmed threatening to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on a taco vendor, says the fallout has spread from social media to her family, employees, and cleaning company.

Ortega posted an apology after the confrontation went viral, acknowledging that her behaviour was unacceptable and saying she now understood the seriousness of invoking ICE during a heated exchange.

'I didn't know the seriousness that would be taken to mention the word [ICE],' Ortega said. 'I now understand the full weight it has and how sensitive people are to that and I am sorry, I'm truly sorry.'

Backlash Has Spread to Her Business

Ortega says the controversy has damaged Excellence Cleaning Pros, the Santa Clarita cleaning company she says she spent 10 years building. 'Now all of my livelihood is ruined. The business that I worked so hard to build for 10 years,' she said.

She also said the backlash was affecting employees who depend on the company for work. 'My employees have bills to pay, they need to work,' Ortega said. 'They can't just be losing hours because people are angry at me.'

The claims about the company's financial losses have not been independently quantified. Ortega also said she and her family had received threats and that the controversy had affected her children and unborn baby. Those claims remain allegations from Ortega rather than independently verified findings.

A Critic Says His Phone Became Part of the Dispute

The fallout then moved beyond reviews and social-media comments. Ricardo Morales, who criticised Ortega after seeing the confrontation, told FOX 11 that he began receiving angry calls and texts from strangers. Ortega confirmed to the station that she had changed the phone number listed on her company's Google business profile to Morales' number.

Ortega said she did so because critics were repeatedly contacting her and described the calls as harassment. Morales said he continued receiving calls from people who believed they were contacting Ortega's business.

Santa Clarita Requires Permits for Sidewalk Vendors

The dispute also raises a separate question about the taco stand that Ortega accused of hurting nearby businesses. Santa Clarita permits sidewalk vending, but the city requires vendors to obtain the appropriate permits and comply with local and county requirements. The city's programme was implemented in 2019 following California's Safe Sidewalk Vending Act. Food vendors generally need a city sidewalk-vending permit, a Los Angeles County public health permit, liability insurance, a California seller's permit, and a food-handler certificate.

It remains unclear whether the specific taco stand involved in the confrontation had all the required permits. That means its licensing status should not be assumed from the viral footage alone. FOX 11 also reported that the status was unclear. The distinction matters because legitimate concerns about permits or public-health compliance can be raised through the city's enforcement process rather than established through a confrontation.

Viral Backlash Can Become a Second Business Crisis

The original dispute was between a business owner and a street vendor. The aftermath has become a wider conflict involving online reviews, employees, family members, a business listing, and a critic's phone number.

That creates a different risk for small businesses caught in viral controversies. A sudden surge of public attention can affect a company's online reputation and day-to-day operations even when the underlying dispute concerns something else.

For Ortega, the issue is now no longer limited to what happened at the taco stand. Her claims about threats and business disruption have become part of the story, while the dispute over Morales' phone number has added another layer to an already escalating online backlash.