East Boston restaurants see drop in immigrant customers due to increase in ICE enforcement
Empty streets and dining tables
It's an unsettling trend that restaurant owner, Fernando Rosas, noticed in the neighborhood a couple of weeks ago. A once vibrant immigrant community, now paralyzed with concern.
"As a business owner and East Boston resident – I'm just down. The future doesn't look good," the owner of BONO Restaurant on Meridian Street told WBZ-TV. "It's like there's some sort of fear. You don't see that many foot traffic. Train stations are pretty empty."
Empty streets and dining tables, Rosas added, since federal immigration agents started carrying out raids in Massachusetts.
Last month, ICE Boston arrested a 56-year-old Dominican national who's a convicted drug dealer in East Boston, accused of attacking someone with a box cutter.
Residents concerned about ICE
Rosas said many Spanish speakers in the neighborhood are afraid of what's to come.
"They see something happening in the neighborhood, they are in alert mode," he said. "They decide not to leave their home, which is bad for our economy."
At the height of the lunchtime rush, La Hacienda was quieter than usual.
"As soon as he started saying that ICE is going to come in and actually take people away, it's been a huge drop," owner Aldo Callejas said. "Trump definitely coming into office. He came in saying that he's going to deport a bunch of people."
It's a fear of the unknown, these restaurant owners tell us, and the proof is in the numbers.
"It's 12:30 and our sales are $22.39," Rosas showed us. "I don't think any restaurant will exist having these numbers."
While many of his peers are afraid to speak out, Rosas feels an obligation to step up.
"Some of us have the responsibility to point out what's going on and I'm afraid that if things continue the way they are, we're going to see a lot of small businesses closing."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Epoch Times
5 minutes ago
- Epoch Times
New Zealander Detained by ICE Waits for Decision on Release of 6-Year-Old Son
A New Zealander resident in the United States, detained by ICE as she tried to re-enter America from Canada, is still waiting to hear the fate of her 6-year-old son Isaac. Sarah Shaw and the boy were transported away at the border after taking her two other children to catch a flight in Vancouver on July 24, which was taking them to visit their grandparents in New Zealand.
New York Post
33 minutes ago
- New York Post
Ex-police chief warns Chicago cops will get hurt because Mayor Johnson won't help ICE
A retired Chicago-area cop expressed frustration with Mayor Brandon Johnson's refusal to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 'What's happening in Chicago and actually the state of Illinois, but I'll talk to you about Chicago, is they're under orders from the mayor not to cooperate with ICE. In fact, he famously said that the Chicago Police Department will never assist ICE, even if it's constitutionally required,' Tom Weitzel, who was chief of police in Riverside, Illinois, told Fox News Digital. Weitzel served as police chief in the Chicago suburb, less than an hour outside the city, from January 2008 to May 2021. In July, Johnson vowed that his city's police 'will not ever cooperate with ICE.' He also recently called ICE raids 'terrorism,' and described Trump's America as looking like 'if the Confederacy won.' 'He's had his city attorneys go and brief the administrative staff or Chicago PD, and then they're going to roll call to tell their officers how they cannot assist,' Weitzel said. 'And the dangerous thing with that is that he's telling them to never assist. So even when ICE would need more police officers because they're under attack, they're being assaulted, maybe they're being battered. He's directed his police department to not cooperate, which is unheard of. I've actually never heard of that.' 4 Immigrants detained by Federal Agents are put into a van outside the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office where ICE had detained people on June 4, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. The Washington Post via Getty Images 4 Mayor of Chicago Brandon Johnson speaks during the 2027 Chicago All-Star Game Announcement before a game between the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on August 01, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. Getty Images The retired police chief said he thinks morale among law enforcement in the city is low. 'And morale is terrible because the media keeps slamming them,' Weitzel continued. 'You have the local politicians slamming the police, and you have the mayor, the chief of the whole government for the city of Chicago. He, if anyone thinks he supports police or policing, they are crazy. The mayor is about as anti-police as they come. And you know, nobody should be surprised because he ran on that campaign, and he got elected.' Chicago has seen over 51,000 illegal immigrants from the southern border settle into the city since August 31, 2022. 4 Tom Weitzel, former chief of police in Riverside, Illinois. Riverside Police 4 Federal agents hold back protesters while removing detainees on June 4, 2025, from a Intensive Supervision Appearance Program office run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Chicago's South Loop. TNS 'As someone who spent 37 years in law enforcement, starting out as a patrol officer for the Chicago Zoological Park Police, in Brookfield, Illinois, and holding various other positions in law enforcement, including being a detective sergeant, patrol sergeant, assistant chief of police, acting chief of police, and finally, chief of police,' Weitzel said he is concerned for the well-being of the Chicago PD. 'They're going to get police officers hurt, not only ICE agents, federal agents, but local police that are going to be injured, because I can tell you that when there's an attack on them that you've seen that, throughout the country, that some of their caravans have been attacked, the local police are coming to help,' he said. Weitzel added that, 'Regardless of what the mayor says, and those officers are there not to do ICE enforcement or federal enforcement, they're there to assist ICE and prevent them from getting injured. So you're going to see his own local police officers be injured in the line of duty because of a completely stupid statement like they will never assist ICE.' Fox News Digital reached out to Johnson for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Cotton Retreat Lower on Wednesday
Cotton futures closed out the Wednesday session with contracts 52 to 66 in the red, as futures reverted lower from the USDA led rally on Tuesday. The US dollar index was back down $0.302 to $97.625, as crude oil futures were down another 45 cents. The Seam reported 1,066 bales sold on the Tuesday online auction at an average price of 60.98 cents/lb. The Cotlook A Index was back up 20 points at 78.20 cents on August 12. ICE cotton stocks were steady on 8/11, with the certified stocks level at 18,242 bales. USDA's Adjusted World Price (AWP) was down 13 points on last week at 54.39 cents/lb. It will be updated on Thursday More News from Barchart Coffee Prices Fall Back as 3-Session Rally Stalls Coffee Prices Fall Back as 3-Session Rally Stalls How Bullish Are US Soybeans? Markets move fast. Keep up by reading our FREE midday Barchart Brief newsletter for exclusive charts, analysis, and headlines. Oct 25 Cotton closed at 66.41, down 66 points, Dec 25 Cotton closed at 67.73, down 66 points, Mar 26 Cotton closed at 69.32, down 52 points On the date of publication, Austin Schroeder did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
