Time was anytime Jesse Herrera stepped inside any open-air swap meet, he saw opportunity.
At 25, he bought his first churro cart and set it up at Five Points in Whittier, soon adding a second cart to that venture and quickly branching out to open stalls at the Santa Fe Springs Swap Meet.
“I didn’t finish high school, but I learned fast,” said Herrera, 57, of La Mirada. “If what you’re selling is clean and presentable, it sells itself. And I take pride in what I do.”
But after about 100 ICE agents marched through the Santa Fe Springs open-air marketplace on June 14, Herrera’s businesses at the swap meet, as well about 300 other small businesses owned mostly by immigrant entrepreneurs, are struggling.
Business was even better during COVID, Herrera said, when the outdoor market was allowed to stay open and people came to buy essential items.
“Before, the crowd was elbow to elbow,” he added. “Right now, it’s a graveyard and it’s getting worse. As soon as the raids stop, that will energize our side of the business.”
Herrera, who owns several stands at the Santa Fe Springs and Redondo Beach swap meets, and more in Cabazon, said his patrons are not spending money like they used to, when a trip to the swap meet was a regular family outing.
“Before, you would see people carrying bags with things they bought and snacks,” he said. “These days you don’t see that. These days, people are asking if we could cut a hot dog in two so a family can share one. That’s how bad it is.”
The June 14 raid, coming in the early days of the ramped-up immigration enforcement promised by the Trump administration, was amplified on social media in the hours and days after. Immigrant advocates criticized swap meet management for letting the armed and masked agents in. Shopping center officials responded that federal law allows officers access to public areas of the swap meet.
Santa Fe Springs Swap Meet management is pushing back on social media reports they said spread misinformation about the event, saying they did document the ICE agents while they were at the site and that two Colombian nationals were detained, and not the 40 or 50 reported online.
“The June 14th incident was disruptive and painful, but one fact remains clear: our vendors are the ones carrying the greatest burden,” officials said in a statement. “They are small business owners, parents and neighbors whose livelihoods depend on this marketplace. We stand with our vendors, and our role is to provide them with the safest and most supportive marketplace possible.”
Management has also worked with the Whittier-based nonprofit Hispanic Outreach Taskforce led by David Gonzalez, who held a “Know Your Rights” training on Sept. 3. About 50 employees and vendors attended the training, which was originally offered at the swap meet’s sister location in North Las Vegas this summer with ACLU Nevada.
The Department of Homeland Security has not provided any additional information about the operation, except for a statement from a spokesperson confirming the presents of ICE and CBP officers at the swap meet and that they were looking for violations of customs and immigration law.
“ICE administratively arrested two individuals,” the statement read. “DHS agencies will not be deterred from the completion of our mission.”
Since early June in Southern California, that mission has been to round up and mass deport undocumented immigrants — targeting what administration officials call the “worst of the worst” criminals. Trump and officials in his administration say the raids have beefed up the border and made it safer. But locally, leaders and businesses say they’ve impacted local economies and caused fear within immigrant communities.
Herrera’s daughter Jessica, 17, was at the shopping center in the late afternoon of June 14. She confirmed more than 80 percent of vendors had already left for the day. She watched as ICE agents gathered at the swap meet stage area, where it looked like they were being filmed. There were about 40 vans in the parking lot and a helicopter flying overhead, her father added.
“What happened was bad, but the way it was shown on social media made it worse. They got things wrong,” Jessica said.
She and her younger brother Robert, 14, help run a store selling huaraches, or Mexican sandals.
While her father admits having any of his six children work the business is always Plan B, with college being the first option, Jessica said she doesn’t mind learning the ropes.
“I like the family dynamic of the business,” she said.
But with sales down, Herrera said hiring family is less costly, even as he fears putting them to work dims the prospect of seeing his children become professionals.
“Never in my lifetime did I think I would see this,” Herrera said. “The horizon looks really bad and it’s all due to this administration.”
Manuel Hernandez, 49, has run a sports clothing store at the swap meet for 27 years. He immigrated from Mexico City at the age of 19, working in a distribution center for Hanes T-shirts before starting his own business.
Despite the ICE-related downturn, Hernandez said he has no plans to give up his business.
“You may not have control now, but your success depends on how you plan for tomorrow,” he said. “I continue to push forward and support my family. My son is starting college this year, and I will support him in his goals. My goal is a better life for me and my family.”
“I would love to expand, as I’ve now incorporated my business,” Hernandez added. “But I have to wait and see how business develops and hope that I can move forward with our plan for growth here in Santa Fe Springs.”
One of his workers, Jesus Alvarez, 18, said his boss has mentored him since he was hired three years ago. He works at the swap meet while attending Cal State Fullerton where he is majoring in biology.
“I love the environment here,” Alvarez said of working at the swap meet, especially during the leadup to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ World Series victory on Nov. 1.
On the night of Game 1 on Oct. 24, there was a Dodgers-blue clad crowd at the marketplace, but nowhere near the thousands that usually would have attended in years past, even as the swap meet offered a Halloween treat to shoppers.
Most of the crowds return on nights when a banda is in concert there, Alvarez said. But since concerts are held when the swap meet is closed, most vendors don’t see a related hike in sales.
Hernandez said after June 14, sales dropped by around 60% compared to previous levels.
“Some customers were upset about what had happened,” he said, feeling that both social media and news media coverage had influenced public perception while also understanding that many customers had family and friends who are undocumented.
Friday, Nov. 7 was one of the best days since the raid, Hernandez reports.
For Herrera, to know the law is one thing, and for government agents to follow that law is another.
“We have to be brave,” he said, and stay together as an immigrant community, in this place where he’s always seen hope and opportunity. “We can see it again. We’re waiting for the raids to stop.”