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LA immigration raids left Fashion District and Little Tokyo businesses worse off
UCLA research linked the mid-June 2025 crackdown with more than $3M in lost revenue and 46,000 fewer visits to nearby businesses.
A year after large-scale immigration crackdowns and related protests disrupted Los Angeles commercial corridors, neighborhoods including the Fashion District and Little Tokyo are still struggling to recover, with ongoing fear also weighing on foot traffic. Bisnow reports that businesses and their landlords have not seen repaired conditions, despite some easing of enforcement in parts of the area.
UCLA research from the Latino Politics and Policy Institute found that raids and street arrests over a two-week period in mid-June 2025 corresponded with losses of more than $3M in revenue and 46,000 visits to nearby businesses. The outlet also cites UCLA coauthor Nicholas Vargas, who said the study did not count additional costs such as spoiled food, piled-up debt, lost wages, lost supplier orders, or expansions that did not happen.
In Los Angeles County, removal orders increased 70% in the first eight months of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, according to figures cited from the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. Bisnow adds that Fashion District agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement eased their focus afterward, but visits have not fully returned to pre-crackdown levels, with 2026 first-half visits 9.9% below 2024 totals based on Placer.ai data provided by the Fashion District Business Improvement District.
Survey research from LAEDC showed decreases in foot traffic and sales revenue were among the most common impacts, and about 82% of surveyed businesses reported being negatively affected by the raids in the fall of 2025. The majority of respondents, roughly 57%, were commercial space occupiers, including storefronts, offices, or warehouses, and Bisnow notes ICE remains active even though the large-scale raids are no longer taking place.