How ICE activity in LA is impacting local businesses

As Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers continue to have a presence in Southern California, local businesses are feeling the effects. 

There have been reports of undocumented workers being taken away by ICE, causing fear and anxiety for several communities in the region, including in the heavily immigrant-populated Boyle Heights. 

Local business owners say that the continued immigration enforcement is forcing community members to stay home, and that’s having a trickle-down effect on the economy. Antonio Gallo owns Casa Fina restaurant in Boyle Heights and has seen the impact of ICE’s presence on his business over the past few weeks. 

Miriam Rodriguez, the president of the Boyle Heights Chamber of Commerce, says the added fear in the community is exacerbating the difficulties local business owners have faced in recent years.