From Newsgroup: alt.law-enforcement

Los Angeles ù Santee Alley is known for its bargains and its
crowds. Shoppers flock to the heart of Los AngelesÆ Fashion
District to see whatÆs on sale and get the latest styles from
wholesalers and entrepreneurs, whose colorful goods spread out from
the squat, industrial-looking stores. Music assails the senses, as
do aromas from food vendors cooking up snacks for the visitors.

Or thatÆs what it used to be like. A visit late last month found a
very different Santee Alley. Metal shutters were rolled down and
padlocked shut, even on a mild Southern California day. Instead of
people jostling around each other in the hubbub, the street was all
but empty. Even the mannequins showing off clothes to buy were
absent.

Santee Alley is one of the places where immigration enforcement
action by the Trump administration is having a visible and costly
impact ù turning parts of the USÆs second biggest city into ghost
towns.

Santee Alley, in the heart of Los Angeles' Fashion District, is
seeing a fraction of the shoppers it used to.

ôThis is something thatÆs unprecedented,ö said Anthony Rodriguez,
the president and CEO of the LA Fashion District Business
Improvement District. ôI personally think that the impact of this
is more significant than that of the pandemic when we were in the
lockdown phases.ö

The Fashion District, south of Downtown LA, had some of the first
workplace immigration operations by federal agents early in June.
CNN affiliate KTLA reported dozens of people were taken away from a
clothing store. The raids, the protests that followed, the
deployment of the National Guard and now a lawsuit by the Trump
administration against Los Angeles for its sanctuary policy have
all sent chills through this city of immigrants, documented and
undocumented.

ôThe sense of fear is overwhelming,ö Rodriguez said. ôThis is
largely an immigrant business community here, for the business
owners, the consumers and the employees.ö

Visitors are down 45%, Rodriguez said, meaning 10,000 or 12,000
fewer shoppers a day and massive losses in revenue for what he said
was one of the economic drivers of Los Angeles.

Christopher Perez said his fashion store ù where he said he and all
his workers are citizens or in the country legally ù has seen a 50%
drop in sales, even though they are open.

ôA lot of people are scared to come out,ö he said.

Christopher Perez is keeping his store open on Santee Alley even
with so many fewer visitors.

Even a whisper of a potential operation by Immigration and Customs
Enforcement agents in the neighborhood can have an impact,
Rodriguez said.

ôEven when there isnÆt actual activity à someone thinks they hear
something and that alone will shut down the entire area,ö he said.

From June 1 through June 10 this year, ICE apprehended 722 people

in the Los Angeles area, according to government figures obtained
and shared by the Deportation Data Project, a group of academics
and lawyers. More than half of the cases ù 417 ù were classified as immigration violations. Some 221 people ù or about 30% of the 722
apprehended ù were convicted criminals.

That compares with 103 apprehensions in the same period in 2024,
when more than two-thirds of the people rounded up were convicted
criminals, the statistics show.

Merchants say the raids are ruining the summer shopping season
Santee Alley and the Fashion District are heavily Latino, as is
Olvera Street a few miles away, one of the oldest streets in the
city and considered its birthplace. It commemorates the founding of
the community named ôEl Pueblo de Nuestra Se±ora la Reina de los
┴ngeles de Porci·nculaö by settlers in 1781. As the town grew,
first as part of Spain, then Mexico and finally the United States,
its name shrank to Los Angeles.

Here too, the word on the street seems to be ôfear.ö

ôEveryoneÆs afraid,ö said Vilma Medina, who sells jewelry from her
kiosk. ôPeople who we know are citizens, theyÆre still afraid of
being picked up even though theyÆre à carrying around their
documents.ö

ItÆs putting a damper on what should be a good time of year for
business, she added.

Vilma Medina says she's doing her best to stay positive as she
sells jewelry from her kiosk in Olvera Street.

ôWeÆve all been waiting for this time because itÆs summer break, so
you get the families coming in,ö she said. But instead of the
expected boom, there are no crowds and little trade. Medina said
her sales have plummeted 80% since early June.

ôThereÆll be days IÆve sold $10 the whole day. ThatÆs how bad itÆs
gotten,ö she said. ôAnd thatÆs even with most of the kiosks not
even opening, so you would think that would increase my sales.ö

She said she was tapping into her savings, hoping to keep going as
she had through Covid and then the wildfires that devastated parts
of her city earlier this year.

Some migrants say they still need to go to work
For one 63-year-old man, keeping going means firing up his taco
truck on the streets even if he has no papers to show ICE agents if
they come to him.

Urbano, who did not want to give his full name, told CNN he
immigrated from Mexico 43 years ago and has lived undocumented in
Los Angeles ever since.

ôWe have to go out to work because if not, whoÆs going to pay our
rent?áTo pay our bills?ö he asked.áôWhoÆs going to pay our taxes?
Like IÆm paying taxes.áCan you imagine?ö

Urbano still prepares his tacos but he says he has fewer customers.

His story is far from unique, and the contributions of undocumented
workers is acknowledged and applauded by state leaders. Lt. Gov
Eleni Kounalakis highlighted the findings of a recent report from
the Bay Area Council Economic Institute stating that CaliforniaÆs
undocumented immigrants contribute more than $23 billion in local,
state and federal taxes.

And if all 2.3 million undocumented people in California were
deported, the report said the stateÆs gross domestic product would
decline by $278 billion.

ôThatÆs 9% of our GDP.áThat GDP value is larger than the entire
state of Nevada, than the entire state of Oregon.áThese are not
small outputs,ö said Abby Raisz, the groupÆs research director.
ôThese workers are really contributing to an entire economic engine
that when one part of it crumbles, when we remove these workers who
comprise 8% of the labor force, it has ripple effects that go way
beyond just that one worker getting deported.ö

Rodriguez said his Fashion District organization is trying to get
assistance for vendors in financial trouble, but he acknowledged
some might not survive the slump.

Even so, he insisted Santee Alley would endure.

ôThis is a resilient area. WeÆre going to bounce back from this,ö
he said against a backdrop of shuttered storefronts. ôItÆll be
challenging, itÆll be difficult ù but weÆre absolutely going to
persevere.ö

CNNÆs Kate Carroll contributed to this story.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/04/us/los-angeles-ghost-towns

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.law-enforcement

Blue State wrote:

Los Angeles — Santee Alley is known for its bargains and its
crowds. Shoppers flock to the heart of Los Angeles’ Fashion
District to see what’s on sale and get the latest styles from
wholesalers and entrepreneurs, whose colorful goods spread out from
the squat, industrial-looking stores. Music assails the senses, as
do aromas from food vendors cooking up snacks for the visitors.

Or that’s what it used to be like. A visit late last month found a
very different Santee Alley. Metal shutters were rolled down and
padlocked shut, even on a mild Southern California day. Instead of
people jostling around each other in the hubbub, the street was all
but empty. Even the mannequins showing off clothes to buy were
absent.

Santee Alley is one of the places where immigration enforcement
action by the Trump administration is having a visible and costly
impact — turning parts of the US’s second biggest city into ghost
towns.

Santee Alley, in the heart of Los Angeles' Fashion District, is
seeing a fraction of the shoppers it used to.

“This is something that’s unprecedented,” said Anthony Rodriguez,
the president and CEO of the LA Fashion District Business
Improvement District. “I personally think that the impact of this
is more significant than that of the pandemic when we were in the
lockdown phases.”

The Fashion District, south of Downtown LA, had some of the first
workplace immigration operations by federal agents early in June.
CNN affiliate KTLA reported dozens of people were taken away from a
clothing store. The raids, the protests that followed, the
deployment of the National Guard and now a lawsuit by the Trump administration against Los Angeles for its sanctuary policy have
all sent chills through this city of immigrants, documented and
undocumented.

“The sense of fear is overwhelming,” Rodriguez said. “This is
largely an immigrant business community here, for the business
owners, the consumers and the employees.”

Visitors are down 45%, Rodriguez said, meaning 10,000 or 12,000
fewer shoppers a day and massive losses in revenue for what he said
was one of the economic drivers of Los Angeles.

Christopher Perez said his fashion store — where he said he and all
his workers are citizens or in the country legally — has seen a 50%
drop in sales, even though they are open.

“A lot of people are scared to come out,” he said.

Christopher Perez is keeping his store open on Santee Alley even
with so many fewer visitors.

Even a whisper of a potential operation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the neighborhood can have an impact,
Rodriguez said.

“Even when there isn’t actual activity … someone thinks they hear something and that alone will shut down the entire area,” he said.

From June 1 through June 10 this year, ICE apprehended 722 people

in the Los Angeles area, according to government figures obtained
and shared by the Deportation Data Project, a group of academics
and lawyers. More than half of the cases — 417 — were classified as immigration violations. Some 221 people — or about 30% of the 722 apprehended — were convicted criminals.

That compares with 103 apprehensions in the same period in 2024,
when more than two-thirds of the people rounded up were convicted
criminals, the statistics show.

Merchants say the raids are ruining the summer shopping season
Santee Alley and the Fashion District are heavily Latino, as is
Olvera Street a few miles away, one of the oldest streets in the
city and considered its birthplace. It commemorates the founding of
the community named “El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los
Ángeles de Porciúncula” by settlers in 1781. As the town grew,
first as part of Spain, then Mexico and finally the United States,
its name shrank to Los Angeles.

Here too, the word on the street seems to be “fear.”

“Everyone’s afraid,” said Vilma Medina, who sells jewelry from her kiosk. “People who we know are citizens, they’re still afraid of
being picked up even though they’re … carrying around their
documents.”

It’s putting a damper on what should be a good time of year for
business, she added.

Vilma Medina says she's doing her best to stay positive as she
sells jewelry from her kiosk in Olvera Street.

“We’ve all been waiting for this time because it’s summer break, so
you get the families coming in,” she said. But instead of the
expected boom, there are no crowds and little trade. Medina said
her sales have plummeted 80% since early June.

“There’ll be days I’ve sold $10 the whole day. That’s how bad it’s gotten,” she said. “And that’s even with most of the kiosks not
even opening, so you would think that would increase my sales.”

She said she was tapping into her savings, hoping to keep going as
she had through Covid and then the wildfires that devastated parts
of her city earlier this year.

Some migrants say they still need to go to work
For one 63-year-old man, keeping going means firing up his taco
truck on the streets even if he has no papers to show ICE agents if
they come to him.

Urbano, who did not want to give his full name, told CNN he
immigrated from Mexico 43 years ago and has lived undocumented in
Los Angeles ever since.

“We have to go out to work because if not, who’s going to pay our rent? To pay our bills?” he asked. “Who’s going to pay our taxes? Like I’m paying taxes. Can you imagine?”

Urbano still prepares his tacos but he says he has fewer customers.

His story is far from unique, and the contributions of undocumented
workers is acknowledged and applauded by state leaders. Lt. Gov
Eleni Kounalakis highlighted the findings of a recent report from
the Bay Area Council Economic Institute stating that California’s undocumented immigrants contribute more than $23 billion in local,
state and federal taxes.

And if all 2.3 million undocumented people in California were
deported, the report said the state’s gross domestic product would
decline by $278 billion.

“That’s 9% of our GDP. That GDP value is larger than the entire
state of Nevada, than the entire state of Oregon. These are not
small outputs,” said Abby Raisz, the group’s research director.
“These workers are really contributing to an entire economic engine
that when one part of it crumbles, when we remove these workers who
comprise 8% of the labor force, it has ripple effects that go way
beyond just that one worker getting deported.”

Rodriguez said his Fashion District organization is trying to get
assistance for vendors in financial trouble, but he acknowledged
some might not survive the slump.

Even so, he insisted Santee Alley would endure.

“This is a resilient area. We’re going to bounce back from this,”
he said against a backdrop of shuttered storefronts. “It’ll be challenging, it’ll be difficult — but we’re absolutely going to persevere.”

CNN’s Kate Carroll contributed to this story.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/04/us/los-angeles-ghost-towns

that's what was voted for , someone likes it
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