Immigration raids cause serious damage to California’s economy – Adrin Nazarian

Alpha News spoke with Los Angeles City Councilmember Adrin Nazarian regarding the large-scale operations and inspections conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). According to him, although the number of protests has declined, the issue itself remains unresolved.

“The past six months have been difficult for Los Angeles. We’ve dealt with fires, high winds, and budget—and now immigration issues. There have been fewer protests, but the issue itself remains unresolved. Yes, LA is a huge city and the protests took place in 4-5 neighborhoods, but the arrests have done serious damage to all communities. Let’s not forget that agriculture is an important part of California’s economy. And if we lose these workers—most of whom are immigrants—our agricultural sector will suffer,” Nazarian said.

He emphasized that about 10 percent of those contributing to the economy are immigrants, many of whom are now being detained and deported.

“It seems like we are living in 1930s Germany. On a human level, these arrests are a disgrace. They see a person with slightly darker skin on the street—they grab him and take him away without notifying his family. But even putting aside the human factor, it’s worth noting that almost 10 percent of Los Angeles’s population are immigrants. That is, 10 percent of those contributing to the economy are the people who are now being arrested and deported. If not them, then who will do the work? Many of those being detained are people like us, who came here and are striving to obtain legal citizenship,” he concluded.