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DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES () — Business owners and workers in downtown Los Angeles’ Fashion District were left shaken after federal agents returned to the busy area Thursday.
Witnesses who spoke to Eyewitness News, but were too afraid to speak on camera, said agents swarmed the area in the morning and began asking vendors for proof of citizenship. It’s unclear if anyone was detained.
Video shows unmarked vehicles pulling up to the intersection of Maple Avenue and 11th Street where agents – some of them armed – stood in the street as the operation unfolded.
Bystanders recorded what was happening, with some yelling and heckling agents.
“In that area, specifically, it is very Latino dominant,” said Elizabeth Zurita, the L.A. Fashion District vice president of marketing and communications. “We have a lot of small businesses in that area that are minority-owned, so it is a tough thing to experience for them.”
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said she’s “deeply alarmed” over ICE’s actions in the popular downtown area. She said it fits a pattern of escalating federal enforcement aimed at intimidating immigrant communities.
“These tactics do not make anyone safer – they only sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city,” read a caption posted on the mayor’s social media page.
Representatives for the Fashion District said businesses remain open.
“We encourage everyone to continue showing love and support for the merchants, workers, and creatives who are here every day,” said a post on the Fashion District’s social media pages.
“We remain committed to doing everything we can to support our business community.”
For many shop owners, the operation brought back memories of a major immigration raid in the Fashion District last June.
Business owners said it took months to recover as customers stayed away. They worry Thursday’s federal activity could trigger more fear.
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