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Dozens of Armed ICE Agents Swarm Popular Swap Meet in Santa Fe Springs
On June 14, 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents conducted a raid at the Santa Fe Springs Swap Meet. The decades-old market caters to a mostly Latino crowd, selling art, clothing, household goods, clothing; it also features a food court with drinks, beer, ice cream, menudo, burgers, tacos, and wings. ICE entered the building at 3:30 p.m., reports the Los Angeles Times , just before a scheduled Father's Day concert. According to the report, 50 to 80 agents in tactical gear with guns searched the site for undocumented immigrants as multiple helicopters circled overhead. Federal agents detained dozens of people and arrested several, reports ABC-7.
Santa Fe Springs is a historically Latino city in south Los Angeles County that borders Whittier, Norwalk, Downey, and Pico Rivera. ABC-7 spoke to witnesses who saw ICE agents asking questions to the crowds while walking through the swap meet crowds. L.A. Taco estimates that between 40 and 50 people were detained. ICE's large-scale immigration sweeps throughout Southern California escalated starting June 6 in Los Angeles and at farms in Ventura County. The Los Angeles Times reports that President Trump vowed to expand immigration enforcement actions in major 'Democrat-controlled' cities, including Los Angeles.
ICE raid protests, local law enforcement, and curfews
Local protests began almost immediately in the wake of the immigration raids. Starting on June 6, large groups of residents gathered in Downtown Los Angeles, one week before the nationwide No Kings protest on June 14. The Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department were on hand at these demonstrations before Trump sent in the National Guard and the Marines on June 8 and June 13, respectively. City officials announced a curfew for a small section of Downtown, limiting access to Chinatown, the Fashion District, and Skid Row from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m. the following day. As a result, many restaurants are losing thousands of dollars in revenue.
A spokesperson for Camelia shared that due to the lack of curfew guidance from the City of Los Angeles, the Arts District restaurant will open from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Downtown restaurants have lost revenue since officials launched the curfew on TK. Camelia will run specials from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. with a $12 martini or champagne, half price oysters, half price burger, plus the whole menu available for an early dinner (or late lunch). Camelia's regular Japanese bistro menu resumes the remainder of its service.
Los Angeles restaurants cope with ICE raids
Eater spoke with two restaurant owners, who wish to remain anonymous for fear of their businesses being targeted by ICE, who say they limited or closed their operations to protect their employees from potential harassment or detention. Meanwhile, the owner of Panadería La Colmena in North Hollywood says that her mostly Latino customers are not purchasing baked goods that typically sell out daily, according to Fox-11.
New protocols for restaurant owners
As many restaurants and street vendors pause operations, nonprofits like the Independent Hospitality Coalition shared a set of protocols for operators to follow. In a video on Instagram, Valerie Confections owner Valerie Gordon shared how she was implementing the protocols at her bakeries in Glendale and Echo Park.
Los Angeles taqueros disappear from the streets
L.A. Taco reports that ICE is conducting arrests at taquerias. The publication reports that one of the earliest raids was on June 12 at East LA food truck Jason's Tacos. The owner told L.A. Taco that ICE detained all of his employees. Angel's Tijuana Tacos also took precautions last week by shuttering all of its street stands and only operating its standalone location in Anaheim.
