On a busy stretch of North Tryon Street, cars speed past a small strip mall dominated by Latino-owned small businesses, including a taqueria, a bakery and a Mexican grocery store. But inside one of its storefronts, a laundromat, it’s quiet.
Blanca Barbosa has worked at the laundromat for about seven years. She remembers when it was once full of families, music and conversation.
“It was always a very prosperous place. We always had a lot of customers,” Barbosa said. “Since the arrests started and all this talk of ICE, it’s dropped significantly.”…