It is evident that the Trump administration is not concerned about the human pain that the raids cause in the Latino community. However, what should matter to the federal government is the negative economic impact that the constant presence of immigration agents, combined with tariffs, has on American businesses.

As a resident and expert in District 9 in South Los Angeles for more than 15 years, I have witnessed how this neighborhood - today with a population almost 80% Latino - has been punished throughout history, whether by riots, gang violence or the lack of investment from corporations that refuse to generate job opportunities that allow the community to move forward.

Unfortunately, the presence of immigration agents hits this community again: businesses lose sales, the streets look empty for fear of deportation and, consequently, many jobs end up being lost.

I have had the opportunity to speak with several small business owners in the area: immigrants who came to this country to get ahead and entrepreneurs born here who seek independence with their own businesses. However, along the way, they have encountered raids. Just as they were beginning to recover from the ravages of the pandemic, today they feel trapped again, with little room for growth and the risk of having to lay off employees due to a lack of customers.

How can we say that we are putting Americans first if we impede the growth of entrepreneurs, if we limit the new generations to having to worry more about keeping their families together than going to college or growing in a company where they are already working?

We were told that immigration would only take people with criminal records, but the reality is that they are taking any worker with Latino features off the streets, regardless of whether they have documents or not.

So how do we expect these families and new generations to imagine and fight for a better future if they have to worry first about not separating their families?

And that's without even mentioning the impact tariffs have on our communities, forcing businesses to increase their spending to keep going.

Obviously, all of these increases are reflected in and affect the pockets of a community where almost 40% of households earn less than 30% of the Area Median Income, an indicator of extremely low income, according to the Los Angeles Poverty Dashboard, from Neighborhood Data for Social Change.

As if this were not enough, Dilawar Syed, former deputy administrator of the US Small Business Administration, recently stated in an article that business sentiment is at its lowest level in the last 15 years, largely due to tariffs.

Furthermore, he reminded everyone that small businesses represent the majority of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), are the largest generators of employment nationwide, and the impact they have received from tariffs has been tremendous.

If It's unlikely Trump's economic and immigration policies will change, but what we can do is unite as a community and shop at the large and small businesses in our neighborhoods. That way, we can ensure that the money we earn and spend as consumers stays in our district while this seemingly endless nightmare passes.

(*) Jose Ugarte is the deputy chief of staff for Los Angeles Councilmember Curren Price and a civil and human rights advocate. This article is a personal point of view and does not represent the opinions of the City or the Council office.