Editor’s Note: Some individuals interviewed for this story requested anonymity or declined to provide full names, due to fears of retaliation or immigration enforcement. LA Public Press has corroborated their accounts through multiple sources and documentation.
Federal immigration agents raided the Santa Fe Springs Swap Meet on Saturday afternoon, detaining at least two people and possibly dozens more amid ongoing “No Kings” protests across the region, according to witnesses on the scene who spoke with LA Public Press.Footage shared with LA Public Press shows at least two people being detained.The raid has sparked fear across the swap meet, which has long been a go-to hub for Latino and Chicano culture. There, attendees can shop for serapes and other cultural wear, enjoy micheladas with a stage that has hosted lucha libre and cover bands like Metalachi, which blends mariachi music with metal.
Ivan, a vendor who has sold clothes there for more than 20 years, said in Spanish: “We are afraid to come now.”“We came to find something and get ahead in life. We are still afraid,” he said…