Latina vendor faces Broadacres shutdown amid ICE raids

*To protect the interviewee’s safety and privacy, a pseudonym has been used in place of her real name.

Esperanza*, who has sold hats and toys at Broadacres Marketplace for 15 years, never imagined she’d have to shut down her booth out of fear of an immigration enforcement raid. But like hundreds of other vendors, her income has come to a halt after the popular North Las Vegas outdoor market announced it would close temporarily.

Last weekend, when Broadacres Marketplace would normally be filled with hundreds of visitors dancing, shopping, and enjoying themselves, the market announced it would temporarily shut down “due to ongoing ICE [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] raids” and the “fear and uncertainty at an all-time high among the immigrant community in Las Vegas.”

“We don’t want any of our customers, vendors, or employees to be detained at our business or for us to be a beacon of shopping and entertainment while our federal government is raiding businesses and detaining its people,” Broadacres said in its statement. “We are heartbroken to announce this temporary closure, but we cannot in good conscience continue operations while our vendors, customers, and community members are under threat.”

According to the statement, Broadacres does not have an estimated reopening date.

Since 1977, the swap meet has served as a community gathering space with live music, food, games, and unique bargains on tools, toys, and clothes.

Broadacres Marketplace is also one of the largest employers in North Las Vegas, behind institutions like the Clark County School District and Nellis Air Force Base.

But as of a few months ago, Broadacres had seen a drop in visitors, Esperanza said.

“Since December, the economy was already kind of strained. But it really hit harder when Trump took office, and then everything started happening right away because his laws were immediate,” Esperanza said. “People kind of stopped spending because there were rumors we were heading into another recession. People still went because it’s a family place, but not to spend—more to enjoy the live music. And me, thank God, I have my spot right next to the stage. So even if it was just a little bit, I could still sell toys to the kids.”

Esperanza recalls people from all over—Washington, Utah, Mexico, and beyond—coming to experience the swap meet. But in recent months, due to the current political climate and fear of immigration enforcement, both the swap meet and Las Vegas as a whole have seen fewer visitors.

Esperanza and her family are also street food vendors—they sell snacks from carts around Las Vegas—and they can get by that way. But other entrepreneurs at Broadacres may not have any additional income.

“It affects my income a lot. Because on top of that, for the weeks it’s closed, we still have to pay rent [for the booth]. And then we’ve got our business expenses and household expenses—it’s very difficult,” said Esperanza, adding that business costs don’t stop. “There are many who don’t have another source of income. Some do have a day job. Others, when business started going down a couple months ago, began looking for work just to survive.”

After the announcement, immigrant rights advocates criticized the Trump administration for “disrupting the heart of the Las Vegas community and economy,” saying that small businesses and entrepreneurs are suffering as masked ICE agents spread fear among families, shoppers, and neighbors in Nevada.

“There is a deep sense of fear and anxiety in our community due to ICE’s constant activity and the Trump administration’s relentless attacks on immigrants,” said Laura Martin, executive director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN). “These attacks on key community hubs for immigrants will have lasting consequences for Nevadans who contribute goods, services, and economic prosperity… The Trump Administration is targeting our friends, families, and neighbors without respecting the law or due process.”

Esperanza said she hopes Congress will stand up to President Donald Trump’s laws and support immigrants who build communities, work, pay taxes, and have made their lives in the U.S.

“He’s honestly very cold, inhumane. Because there are people with children. We have rights, with or without legal status,” she said. “We contribute to the economy, we work. And just yesterday, I saw a government report that admitted without immigrants, there is no economy. We’re talking about people who aren’t stealing, who aren’t hurting Nevada. They’re just trying to support their families.”

In a call for community action, the Nevada Immigrant Coalition urged the Latino community to know their rights, create family preparedness plans, and stay alert for ICE agents in plain clothes and unmarked vehicles.

Meanwhile, Esperanza remains calm, makes sure her home’s gate is locked and secure, and stays informed and hopeful that everything will turn out okay. That Broadacres will reopen soon, and that undocumented people will no longer be torn from their families.

“I’m at peace because we didn’t live through the horrible chaos we would’ve faced if immigration agents had come to the swap meet and taken vendors and customers. So I’m glad management made the decision not to put everyone at risk. I think they’ll reopen it and little by little things will return to normal,” said Esperanza. “After a storm comes the calm. So now we just wait for this to pass. We’re Latinos, and when we fall, we rise again.”