ICE raids derail Los Angeles economy as workers go into hiding
Los Angeles was already struggling to revive its fragile economy after the most destructive wildfires in its history erupted six months ago.
Now, immigration raids are driving workers crucial to the rebuilding into the shadows.
Framers and landscapers are abandoning job sites. Renovations of retail shops have stopped midway.
Real estate developers say they are struggling to find crews to keep projects on track in a sector that relies heavily on immigrant labour.
“We don’t have enough people to staff the work and we’re scrambling to figure it out,” said chief executive Arturo Sneider of Primestor, a manager of $1.2 billion in shopping centres and 3,000 apartments under development in California and three other states. “It’s triggering delays.”
US President Donald Trump’s deportation campaign has roiled workplaces and communities from Florida to Illinois and New York.
But few places are feeling the shock as acutely as Los Angeles, a long-time sanctuary city and home to one of the nation’s largest migrant labour forces.
Between June 6 and June 22, immigration agents arrested more than 1,600 people across the Los Angeles area – at car washes, construction sites and day-labourer hubs such as Home Depot carparks.
The scope of the crackdown has rattled neighbourhoods. Businesses have shuttered, police overtime costs have surged and Independence Day events in Latino areas were cancelled amid fears of apprehensions.
The wave of detentions sparked a week of protests in downtown Los Angeles and outlying suburbs, some turning violent.
Mr Trump deployed the National Guard and US Marines to protect federal property, dismissing the objections of Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom.
While the demonstrations have largely eased, the Trump administration escalated tensions last week by suing Los Angeles over its refusal to cooperate with federal agents.
Homeland Security officials argued in the case that the city’s sanctuary policies – which limit local cooperation with federal immigration authorities – obstruct enforcement and create instability.
Mayor Karen Bass vowed to fight the lawsuit despite the cost to the city’s already stretched budget. The raids are doing “severe economic damage” and undercutting efforts to rebuild after the fires, she said.
“We know that Los Angeles is the test case, and we will stand strong,” Ms Bass said. “We do so because the people snatched off city streets and chased through parking lots are our coworkers, our neighbours, our family members, and they are Angelenos.” [Continue reading…]