This story was produced under The LA Local’s Youth Journalism Program. To learn more or to get involved, click here.
When he first arrived in the United States from Mexico in 1975, Silvio Estrada knew he arrived in the land of opportunity.
The then 24-year-old quickly bought a cart to sell food around parts of Southern California. Soon, he established a network of vendors that supported each other.
“I started this business, and we’re all helping each other out little by little,” said Estrada, who is undocumented. The LA Local has changed his first name to protect his identity.
When immigration enforcement ramped up in 2025, he stopped going to work out of fear he’d be arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents . It was the first time he missed weeks of work since he began selling more than 30 years ago.
“We’ve had it rough lately; we’ve barely been working because of [immigration enforcement],” Estrada said. “Here we are, fighting through it.”
As an undocumented street vendor, this is his new daily reality.
For Estrada, his livelihood depends on the work he puts in as a local street vendor, whose skill of expertise lies in the art of making churros.
However, his business, alongside many others, have persistently been threatened by recent ICE raids and increased ICE patrol in Black and brown communities.
In May, one first-time buyer, Adriana Maciel, purchased a plate of hot churros for her family after eating dinner nearby. She couldn’t deny the value immigrants add to her community.
“Being a daughter of immigrants, I know how important they are to our economy. I don’t think we would be standing if immigrants weren’t here,” Maciel said. “They’re an important part of our community and they’re never leaving.”
South LA was one of the most targeted areas for ICE raids, studies show
Since last summer, residents of LA have seen an increase in ICE patrol in their communities.
There have been dozens of ICE raids across the city but communities like those in South LA have been impacted the most by these raids.
Studies show South LA being one of the most targeted areas for raids because of its high concentration of foreign-born residents who have yet to become citizens, according to the Institute for Applied Economics.
The increased threat of immigration has caused Estrada and his workers to scale back on his business. Of the six carts he owns, only two are actively used because of his employees’ decisions to stop working out of fear.
The livelihood of Estrada has been threatened, but this isn’t a problem that is unique to him.
Across LA, vendors are experiencing financial hardships but through organizations, such as Inclusive Action, these vendors are finding opportunities to improve their situations.
Inclusive Action is a nonprofit organization that serves street vendors in communities across LA County. Their mission is primarily to alleviate income inequality and invest in local communities by offering resources to local street vendors such as business coaching, providing business loans, or offering workshops.
Shannon Camacho, an associate of policy at Inclusive Action, said the organization recently launched a solidarity fund to support vendors who have been affected by ICE raids with $500 cash cards.
“What we’ve been seeing [is] the real fear and the real impossible choices that a lot of folks have had to make to either scale back their businesses, scale back their hours working,” Camacho said.
The group has an Open Air Worker Emergency Fund, through which they’ve distributed $500 cash cards to hundreds of street vendors since last summer.
While these economic factors have caused a tremendous amount of stress for Estrada, he has also been struggling with unexpected complications in his personal life.
With his wife in and out of hospitals, Estrada also faces the challenge of having to manage both worlds while his source of income alone is unstable.
“We’re all helping each other out little by little. One here, another there. We’re struggling, but we’re getting by,” Estrada said. “So here we are, fighting through it.”
