At gunpoint outside an AutoZone at South Central Avenue and East 43rd Place, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained two Latino men in a parked car as morning commuters drove past. Mauricio, an auto mechanic on his way to work, watched the June raid that would become one of several forcing repair shops across South Los Angeles to lock their gates and send workers into hiding.
The timeline of fear began in early June. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted a highly visible raid at a Fashion District clothing manufacturer on June 6, followed by operations at Home Depot parking lots in Westlake. Within days, auto shop owners like Mauricio, who declined to provide his last name, began closing their doors.
A series of chaotic and often violent immigration sweeps continued across Los Angeles County, sending shockwaves through large swaths of immigrant communities in Southern California…