Immigration raids continued in Southern California over the weekend, including one at the Santa Fe Springs Swap Meet that forced the site to postpone a concert.
Videos and photos on social media showed dozens of armed, masked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, agents entering the Santa Fe Springs Swap Meet, a site that draws mostly Latino crowds, on June 14 at around 3:30 p.m.
The raid forced the popular swap meet, which hosts live music events on the weekends, to postpone that night’s show featuring regional Mexican acts Los Cadetes de Linares, Los Dinámicos del Norte and three other bands.
Venue officials posted a statement on social media the following day after attendees accused the swap meet of allowing ICE to perform the raid. They confirmed that ICE agents were present and detained “an unknown number of persons.”
“We were given no notice of their arrival and at no point did our team consent to their enforcement on site,” the swap meet wrote on Instagram. “To be clear, the Santa Fe Springs Swap Meet and its personnel did not coordinate with ICE or participate in any preplanning of immigration enforcement with any federal officials. These actions were completely out of our control.
“We understand how concerning this is for our customers, vendors, and staff. The Santa Springs Swap Meet has always been a place of connection, culture and commerce for all.”
Raids such as the one that occurred in Santa Fe Springs continue to occur throughout L.A. County despite President Donald Trump acknowledging that his policy is hurting certain industries, especially food and service.
It’s now encroaching on the live entertainment sector with people opting to stay home and avoid public spaces that they once considered safe. Latin music is a major contributor to the live business, especially Mexican acts, who earn much of their living here in the States because of the large population of Latinos in major cities like Los Angeles, Chicago and Dallas.
There were many concerns in the soccer community after the Department of Homeland Security announced on social media last week that ICE would be present at the FIFA Club World Cup match at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens on Saturday.
SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, hosted a CONCACAF Gold Cup match between Mexico and the Dominican Republic on June 14, the same day thousands gathered for “No Kings Day” protests in the Southland and cities across the country protesting the Trump administration’s policies. The match attendance was 54,309, a far cry from the 72,773 attendance of Mexico’s Copa America match against Venezuela at SoFi last year.
The president, however, is doubling down on his mass deportation policy, saying that they are expanding their efforts in Democrat-run cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.
“These, and other such Cities, are the core of the Democrat Power Center, where they use Illegal Aliens to expand their Voter Base, cheat in Elections, and grow the Welfare State, robbing good paying jobs and Benefits from Hardworking American Citizens,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
Los Angeles, a sanctuary city that has embraced cultural diversity and migrants, has seen 10 consecutive days of mostly peaceful protests, but tension began escalating last week when President Trump deployed the National Guard and Marines to L.A. despite objections from Gov. Gavin Newsom, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and local law enforcement.
In an effort to deter violent demonstrations, Bass implemented a curfew in the downtown area where federal buildings are located, affecting restaurants and venues that host live events in the area like Crypto.com Arena, Peacock Theater and Walt Disney Concert Hall, which had to cancel its final show of the season last week.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered across Southern California on Saturday, from Downtown L.A. to Pasadena to the San Fernando Valley, to protest President Trump’s overreach as well as immigration raids.
Notable artists from the film and music industry also participated in the protests, and many of them used their platform expressing concern about immigrants and the raids in L.A., including Olivia Rodrigo and Tyler, The Creator, who wrote, “Fuck Ice,” on an Instagram story.
Singer Nezza, who is of Dominican Republic descent, posted a video on her social media channels of her performing the national anthem at Dodger Stadium in Spanish on Saturday against the organization’s wishes.
The viral video shows her being told by an unidentified Dodgers employee that the song would be performed in English, and the post then cuts to Nezza, 30, performing “The Star-Spangled Banner” in Spanish before the Dodgers-Giants game.
“Para mi gente [For my people] I stand with you. Yesterday was easily one of the scariest days of my life,” Nezza wrote in the caption of the video posted on Sunday. “I sang ‘El Pendon Estrellado’ the OFFICIAL Spanish star spangled banner (commissioned by President Roosevelt) at the Dodgers game after being told I couldn’t. And I’m so proud that I did. Stay safe. Stay strong. I love you.”
With much of its fan base comprising Latinos, the Dodgers organization has been criticized by some for its silence on the ICE raids and protests. Manager Dave Roberts and utility player Kiké Hernández are the only Dodgers representatives who have acknowledged the events affecting the Latino community, while local professional soccer teams Los Angeles FC of Major League Soccer and Angel City FC of the National Women’s Soccer League have issued statements. The latter team stood in solidarity with the L.A. community by wearing T-shirts that said, “Immigrant City Football Club,” before their match on Sunday.
Latin music star Becky G applauded Nezza for performing the national anthem in Spanish and was critical of the team for not doing more to support its Latino fans.
“Dodgers, don’t you dare turn your backs on us now,” she wrote in an Instagram story that included Nezza’s video. “We as a city have embraced you and need your support now more than ever. Think about who fills up your stadium!!!!”
