Street vendors in Los Angeles remain on alert after detecting an increase in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids against them during the last week.

Even this Monday, a raid was reported in Highland Park. Community members say that immigration agents arrested the owner of Peso Pluma Tacos in the morning. Additionally, on Tuesday, another street vendor was reportedly arrested in West Los Angeles while trying to sell tamales. Just last week, more than 12 people were arrested in raids in Highland Park, Echo Park, Silver Lake, Eagle Rock, and Downey. The recent raids have kept many from going to work, while others have no choice but to take the risk. "Right now, what would help me is simply for the raids to stop. I think that would help all of us," said Fabiana, a street vendor who sells fruit. “What we are experiencing is not life.” The 64-year-old vendor recounted that her friend and coworker—who also operated his own fruit cart—was detained by two alleged immigration agents on Wednesday, January 7. That day, she was at home getting ready to go to work when she suddenly received a call from her coworker. When she spoke with the vendor, he told her that he had only seen a normal car park next to his fruit stand around noon. The vendor said to the person in the car, "What can I give you?" as he rolled down his window, and didn't realize it was immigration until he saw other cars arrive quickly. "He had already started calling me when he saw the other cars approaching and then told me to hurry and get the fruit cart because they were taking it," Fabiana recounts. "When I arrived, I saw that they only left the two empty coolers. Someone took the cart, the fruit, the drinks, and the coconuts; they took everything." "We don't know who it was: if it was the agents or if someone stole it." The fruit vendor was taken to the detention center and,As soon as he could, he contacted Fabiana.

“He called me at 2 am and told me he was going to sign his deportation papers because the detention center was overcrowded and the conditions weren't good,” Fabiana recounts. “He said it was hell, and the next day, he was deported to Tijuana.”

Sitting next to her fruit cart, Fabiana,who is waiting for knee surgery soon, says it hasn't been easy since the raids started, especially now that she doesn't have her coworker, who helped her a lot with moving her equipment. She explained that, apart from sending her coworker some money because he had only sold $30 worth of fruit when he was arrested, they are considering the best way to help him now that he lives in Tijuana.

She adds that the recent raids have put her on edge and have affected not only her business but also her mental health. This latest raid and the arrest of someone she lived with affected her deeply. "This is also affecting our health, because we can't sleep due to the stress. Every time we go out to sell, we do it with fear, wondering if we'll sell enough to support ourselves, knowing that at any moment they could come and take us away," the vendor expressed. "Also, I'm waiting for knee surgery that will require three months of recovery. That's why, right now, I'm working as hard as I can, because later I won't be able to." Fabiana said that, with the help of an organizer from the police station, she reported the second fruit cart as stolen and hopes the community can help find it. She and the deported vendor shared their fruit carts, and she says they paid more than $2,000 for each one, so she hopes to get it back soon. Another vendor from El Sereno, who operates a truck selling birria at the El Sereno Night Market, said she can't put into words how much the situation has affected her. She and her husband run the business, which is their only source of income for them and their two children. “The raids have affected our business financially, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually,” said the vendor, who preferred not to give her name for her safety. “There have been days when we go out to work and don't sell a single dish.” Advocacy groups and organizations like Inclusive Action, which work directly with street vendors and other entrepreneurs, have also noticed the increase in vendor arrests. “We are horrified by the violent abductions of street vendors in Los Angeles, which destroy lives, separate families, and tear apart the social and economic fabric of our communities,” said Rudy Espinoza, Executive director of the organization Inclusive Action for the City. “We condemn these attacks and will continue working alongside our coalition partners to protect street vendors and immigrant entrepreneurs.” Street vendors typically sell in a variety of ways: alone on city sidewalks, at open-air markets, or by being hired for private events. Espinoza says that one of the ways his organization is helping vendors is through the “Hire a Vendor” program, which supports street vendors in their developing skills in the food service industry and accessing new opportunities. “This program has become especially important as the federal government has intensified immigration enforcement in our communities.The need for safe job opportunities is now more urgent," Espinoza said. Some of the places where street vendors have been able to find refuge—even before the raids—have been spaces or night markets. These typically bring together several vendors in one place, allowing them to work more safely, without the constant fear of being detained by immigration agents, and to have more stable incomes. However, with the increase in raids, these markets have also been forced to make difficult decisions. Such is the case of El Sereno Night Market, which announced today through its social media that it would not be opening. “We started hearing about the operations on Monday, which is when we began to see that the raids were intensifying and very close to us,” said Vanessa Gutierrez, president of El Sereno Night Market. “When they took the owner of Peso Pluma Tacos, I was astonished because I saw him all the time.” “There was no doubt that we were going to close; I couldn't live with myself if something happened to any of our vendors. We closed,” she added.

This isn't the first time the group, which includes more than a dozen street vendors, has had to close their doors for more than a day. In June, when the raids began, their market, usually bustling with life, music, families, and delicious food, closed for more than a month for the safety of their vendors and customers.

“During that time, I wondered what we were going to do, because these vendors are so much more than just people who come to work at the market,” Gutierrez said. “They are our family, our community, and knowing that we're back to the situation we were in in June is scary.”

Gutierrez and his vice president, Isidro “Sid” Rea, remember how they wept alongside the vendors that month, by contacting each one to tell them they would be closed until things improved. Although they work with neighborhood watch groups like El Sereno Community Care Collective, which monitors the neighborhood when they are open, they prefer to proceed with caution. In today's video, Gutierrez tried to hold back tears, as he fears they will find themselves in the same situation as in June if the raids continue to intensify. That's why this time they plan to raise funds before having to close for an extended period. They want to provide financial assistance to their vendors during the closure, as they were able to do in June thanks to community donations. “We are going through difficulties, but we are moving forward with a lot of effort,” said Cristina Villa, owner of Birria Hijos de Villa. “We leave home every day with the uncertainty of not knowing if we will return,” Villa says. "We've seen that ICE, under this administration, doesn't care whether you have documents or not; they simply see brown and black people, and for them, that's already a crime."Some of the places where street vendors have been able to find refuge—even before the raids—have been markets or night markets. These spaces typically bring together several vendors in one place, allowing them to work more safely, without the constant fear of being detained by immigration agents, and to have more stable incomes. However, with the increase in raids, these markets have also been forced to make difficult decisions. Such is the case of El Sereno Night Market, which announced today through its social media that it would not be opening. “We started hearing about the operations on Monday, which is when we began to see that the raids were intensifying and very close to us,” said Vanessa Gutierrez, president of El Sereno Night Market. “When they took the owner of Peso Pluma Tacos, I was astonished because I saw him all the time.” "There was no doubt that we were going to close; I couldn't live with myself if something happened to any of our vendors. We closed," she added.