Eight Months After ICE Raids, Southeast L.A. Small Businesses Are Still Rebuilding

by Jacob Rueda

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids from June 2025 have had a severe impact on immigrant communities across the United States. One of the worst hit places was Los Angeles, a city with one of the largest immigrant populations in the United States.

Many immigrants who live and work in LA also patron businesses, especially those that are locally owned. From the time the raids began until early 2026, businesses have been working to recover from the economic impact.

According to a survey commissioned by the Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity, the raids resulted in more than a billion dollars in lost economic activity.

The survey also found that business owners have had to resort to extraordinary measures to stay open. Some of them changed operating hours, while others held off on expanding their business. Some businesses also had trouble getting supplies and services from vendors.

The reality of what business owners go through is witnessed first-hand by vlogger Jairo Parra, who runs a page called Small Guy on Main Street that focuses on LA area small businesses. He said the survey is only part of the reality when it comes to examining the economic impact of the raids.

"Southeast Los Angeles [has] a very high Latino population," Parra said, "and which is one the targeted areas for ICE and and Homeland Security presence." Despite covering the entire county, the survey also included areas like Beverly Hills that saw little to no raid activity.

Parra said businesses in the Southeast region of LA County experienced worse economic impact because of targeted raids in that area. However, he said businesses have been able to recover to an extent.

"When I spoke to [business owners] when it was just happening in June of last year, for the majority of them, it was between 40 to 60% in revenue drop," Parra said, "Now, when I did talk to a few, they said that it has gotten better, that [it] has improved. But, we could say that not everybody's experiencing the same recovery."

During the first part of the raids, people came out only to buy what was needed, according to Parra. As time went on, people started shopping a little more regularly, but not to where they did before the raids began.

Even though recovery has been slow, Parra said business owners have seen some positive outcomes from community support. An event called a "buyout" is where local residents flood a struggling business and purchase every last item of inventory.

But even with community support, not all businesses were able to keep their doors open. One owner Parra spoke with ran a party rental business in Boyle Heights and ultimately shut down after months of heavy ICE activity in the area.

"They had [taken], I think, one of her um neighbors, but not in the business, but of her residential area," he said, "And that's the last time we spoke."

The past eight months has shown how vulnerable and yet resilient small businesses in the region are. Community support has helped some owners stay afloat, but the way forward remains uncertain for those who are still navigating the long‑term effects of the raids.

Watch the entire interview with Jairo Parra:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5cp53mzpPw