Dear South Central LAMP Community,
This week, we welcomed all of our families back on site. This is typically an exciting time of year, as children prepare for a new school year and parents shop for new shoes, uniforms, and clothing. This year, however, that excitement is accompanied by a great deal of stress and uncertainty for many of the families in our community, particularly those affected by the increased ICE presence and enforcement activity in our neighborhoods.
As we continue on with our Truth Telling Series, sadly, many families continue to struggle with the financial impact of the ICE raids. Recently, I had the opportunity to attend UCLA’s Latino Policy and Politics Institute webinar, “The Cost of Fear,” which highlighted the significant economic consequences immigration enforcement activity has had on local communities.
The webinar shared that, within two weeks, formal businesses across nine enforcement sites experienced approximately 46,000 fewer customer visits and an estimated $3.16 million in accumulated losses. Financial instability continues to be a significant challenge and has deepened since the initial June 2025 raids, with 95% of Latino entrepreneurs reporting ongoing financial stress.
While much of this data focuses on formal businesses, we know that the impact extends beyond them. Street vendors, home-based businesses, food trucks, and other parts of the Latino small-business economy have also been affected. Many of these small businesses rely on the foot traffic generated by larger or more formal businesses. When those businesses experience fewer customers, the ripple effect is felt throughout the entire community.
These challenges affect our community in ways that go far beyond finances. As parents arrived on campus this week, they were excited to begin a new school year. However, the underlying fear and stress were also evident, particularly as we reviewed the policies and procedures we have put in place should ICE come to our doors.
While these policies are intended to help protect our families and children, there is also an understandable fear and uncertainty. Families are asking difficult questions: If laws and established protocols are not always followed by ICE agents, or in some cases, are intentionally disregarded, how much protection can policies truly provide? These are some of the very real concerns our community is grappling with right now.
We are also seeing the impact directly at South Central LAMP. Enrollment is currently at approximately 74% of our capacity. While there may be multiple factors contributing to this, the fear, financial instability, and uncertainty families are experiencing are undoubtedly affecting many aspects of their daily lives and decisions.
As we begin this new school year, we are reminded that supporting our families means more than providing educational programs. It also means recognizing the realities they are facing, creating spaces where they feel safe and supported, and continuing to stand alongside them during a time of tremendous uncertainty.
I invite you to join me on this journey as we learn to navigate the current environment together and together we remind each other that as, Wael Ghonim said “the power of the people is greater than the people in power.”
Diana Z. Pinto
Executive Director
For more information on the data shared above, please see “The Cost of Fear” report by the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute by clicking here.