Immigration raid in LA’s El Salvador corridor

Vendors from the El Salvador corridor in the Pico Union area are still shaken after an immigration raid that happened on Sunday around 11 a.m. There are estimates that between six and 10 people were detained. 

Vendors said the federal agents focused on 11th and 12th Streets, where the majority of vendors gather. 

A food vendor identified as Juana said she heard when the federal agents arrived but she couldn’t see them because she was by the far south end of the corridor on Pico Blvd. 

“I was very scared, but what could I do? I had all my items out already,” she said. “I was just hoping they didn’t get closer.”

Videos in social media show people running away from the area where the federal agents parked. Some started pushing each other and vendors left their stands unattended. 

One of the videos shows a man being detained by the U.S. Border Patrol officers. He has been identified by his stepdaughter as Julio Vargas, a Guatemalan who has been living in the United States for more than 30 years. 

“He has worked all his life, he’s an elderly man,” said the stepdaughter, who didn’t want to provide her name. “He doesn’t have anyone back in his native country of Guatemala.” 

El Salvador Corridor Association is in charge of preserving the 14-block destination from 11th Street to Adams Blvd., which is specifically dedicated to the Central merican community. 

Raul Claros, co-founder and interim executive director of the association said there are about 126 street vendors in one block radius – from 11th to 12th streets – where the raid happened.

“It breaks my heart because I went to middle school two blocks away from there, at Berendo Middle School,” he said. 

Owner of Dodgers benefiting from games and raids

Claros said it is infuriating to know that less than 24 hours after the Dodgers won the World Series, a raid happened in the same city they represent. He said this is especially frustrating because Mark Walker, principal owner of the Dodgers, benefits anytime these raids happen. 

Walters is the CEO of Guggenheim Partners, a financial firm that manages over $325 billion in assets. Guggenheim holds a 0.38% stake in the GEO Group, a private prison company that operates U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers. 

Walter also leads TWG Global, which recently partnered with Palantir Technologies, a data analytics firm that built ImmigrationOS. This system helps identify, track and deport noncitizens. ICE paid $30 million to build the platform. 

“How much money did we just spend today on a parade to parade an owner that just benefited off the raids yesterday [Sunday]?” questioned Claros. “When are we going to call these people and when are we going to demand that our leaders, the mayor, the county supervisor, the council member, figure out a plan and get investment into this plan. We have no leadership.”

Claros said that’s why the Dodgers have kept quiet all this time and out of pressure donated $1 million in silence without taking a stance on the issue. 

CALÓ News tried to obtain a comment from Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, who represents the area but hasn’t received a response yet.

CALÓ News also tried to obtain a comment from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to learn more about these detentions, but hasn’t received a response yet.