Key facts
- Immigration crackdowns in Los Angeles in mid-June 2025 led to significant financial losses for businesses.
- Research estimates over $3 million in lost revenue and 46,000 fewer customer visits.
- Removal orders in Los Angeles County saw a 70% increase in the first eight months of 2025.
- Foot traffic in the Fashion District remains below pre-crackdown levels.
- Fear of ongoing immigration enforcement continues to impact business operations and worker confidence.
Immigration crackdowns in Los Angeles in mid-June 2025 have inflicted significant and lasting financial damage on local businesses, with recovery efforts still underway a year later. Research from the University of California, Los Angeles' Latino Politics and Policy Institute estimates that these enforcement actions led to over $3 million in lost revenue and a decrease of 46,000 customer visits.
The impact extends beyond immediate sales figures, encompassing spoiled food, accumulated debt, lost wages for workers, and deferred business expansions, according to Nicholas Vargas, a coauthor of the report. The study highlights that the reported figures represent a floor, not a ceiling, for the economic costs.
Data from the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. shows a 70% increase in removal orders in Los Angeles County during the first eight months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. While foot traffic in areas like the Fashion District has shown some recovery, it has not returned to pre-crackdown levels, with visits remaining 9.9% below 2024 totals.
Surveys indicate that approximately 82% of businesses participating in fall 2025 reported negative effects from the raids, with more than half experiencing reduced daily sales. Many businesses, particularly those occupying commercial spaces, are still grappling with the consequences, delaying expansion plans and consolidating locations to manage debt and shrunken savings.
Little Tokyo, though not directly targeted by large-scale raids, experienced disruptions due to its proximity to a federal detention center, including protests and a six-day nighttime curfew in June 2025. Kristin Fukushima, executive director of the Little Tokyo Community Council, noted that the area took months to rebound from this period. The ongoing presence and actions of immigration enforcement, including street arrests, continue to create an atmosphere of fear, impacting workers' willingness to come to work and affecting public spaces.
From January to March 10, 2026, ICE agents made 2,581 arrests in the greater Los Angeles area, a 148% increase from the same period the previous year, according to data analyzed by Bisnow. This sustained enforcement activity continues to have far-reaching effects on immigrant communities and their livelihoods.