‘Completely Disrupted': Fear Upends Life for Latinos in L.A.
Fear and anxiety have gripped Latinos in Los Angeles to an extraordinary degree, upending the lives of thousands of residents. Increased immigration raids and patrols by masked officers have stifled one of the largest and most established Latino communities in America, causing what residents and officials describe as a Covid-style shutdown of public events, street life and commerce.
It has affected not only undocumented immigrants and mixed-status families but also many U.S. citizens who have lived in California for decades and who say that they are fearful of being swept up in the raids. Interviews with more than two dozen Latino residents, elected officials and community leaders in the Los Angeles area revealed the cultural, financial and psychological toll the Trump administration's immigration crackdown is having on a county where nearly half of the population traces their ancestry to Mexico and other parts of Latin America.
'People don't feel safe,' said Mark González, a state lawmaker whose district includes part of downtown Los Angeles and the city of Montebello, a majority-Hispanic working-class suburb where a number of people have been detained by federal agents. 'Normal everyday life is completely disrupted as a result of these raids.'
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