With Anticipated ICE Crackdown, Many Bay Area Latinos Stay Out of Public Spaces

On a typical Sunday afternoon, the area around the 16th Street BART station is packed. Vendors are making sales, performers are playing music and lots of Latinos are hanging out. The Mission, after all, is the heart of San Francisco's Mexican-American community.

But July 14 wasn't your typical Sunday — the threat of a nationwide ICE crackdown loomed large and it appeared that the Bay Area's Latino communities were keeping out of the public eye.

Immigrant rights advocates said there weren't reports of immigration raids in the Bay Area this weekend, yet community organizers and business owners said many people in the Latino community stayed out of public spaces and at home.

“The Mission, even post-gentrification, still has a heavy Latinx population, but I didn't see as many brown people out today as I would've hoped,” said Chirag Bhakta, the community engagement coordinator for Mission Housing, who was at the Sunday Streets neighborhood event on Valencia Street. “There's a lot of people out, but it's not necessarily a lot of the community members who are living around the neighborhood.”

One block over, at Aramex restaurant, manager Katrina Rey said the potential threat of ICE raids has impacted Latino businesses on Mission Street more than those on neighboring Valencia Street, which has far fewer Latino businesses.

Rey said there's been an overall decrease in Latino customers over the past month and that decrease was dramatic this weekend.

“We’re seeing less and less and less Latins,” Rey said. “People are scared to go out because they don't know what's going to happen."

It's not just Rey's restaurant. Surrounding businesses in the area are feeling the effects as well.

Further down Mission Street, at the restaurant Castillito Yucateco, Mirna Bueso rang up one of the few customers inside a noticeably empty restaurant. Bueso said she had served about fifteen customers so far that day — much slower than a regular weekend. She said some of the fear keeping customers at home is being driven by misinformation and confusion surrounding ICE raids.

“It's like ‘ICE is here, ICE is there,’” said Bueso, describing the false rumors she's heard. “Personally, it's hard.”

San Francisco's Mission District wasn't the only Bay Area Latino community feeling the effects of a potential crackdown. At the San Jose flea market, a longtime favorite among the area's Latino community, just a smattering of families strolled past a produce stand that looked almost untouched.

“It's been decreasing really bad,” said proprietor Ramon Garcia. “I don't know why Mr. President Trump is doing that kind of stuff, because it's affecting everybody.”

Since the Trump administration started threatening ICE raids several weeks ago, business has gone down by 75 percent, Garcia said.

It's not just customers that are staying away. Business owners reported that some employees were afraid to come to work.

“Many of this kind of business use immigrant workers, so what’s going to happen if the people are scared? Who's going to work?” Rey said. “This is going to affect the economy, not just for our state, it's going to affect the whole country.”

Rey has assured her customers and employees that if ICE comes knocking on her door, she'll protect anyone in her restaurant.

“If they try to come here I will close the door,” Rey said. “They are not coming here. They won't take my workers or my customers.”

Advocacy organizations say it's important for people to be aware of their rights in case of an ICE encounter.

At the Mission District's Sunday Streets fair, Mission Housing passed out “Know Your Rights” pamphlets to passersby.

“I think it's fear; I think it's not knowing and thinking that if they get stopped they don't have any rights at all," said Márcia Contreras, Deputy Executive Director of Mission Housing. "And so they decide to stay indoors versus coming out at all."

The organizations also works to connect people with local resources and legal representation, as well as posts signage directed at law enforcement outside of all their housing complexes.

But community members, even those who are here legally, are still feeling at risk, said Contreras.

“Especially in this district, we have a lot of Latino families living here, and if they’re not the ones feeling the fear, it could be a friend, it could be a relative.” Contreras said. “It's almost like a domino effect. It has an impact throughout the community, and I know this community is feeling it.”

KQED's Sara Hossaini contributed to this report.