After raids, Fashion District hopes for a Black Friday boon

Over the summer, mass arrests and fears of deportation turned area into a ghost town

- By Suhauna Hussain

BUSINESSES in L.A.'s Fashion District look to recover from losses caused by immigration enforcement.

Lizzie Osorio remembers customers flooding Lion Boots in early May, browsing embroidered shoes and tasseled suede dresses.

Beyoncé had four concerts scheduled in Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium for her Cowboy Carter tour. So the store tucked in Santee Alley, where 24-year-old Osorio works selling cowboy boots and other Western-style clothing, was the perfect stop for fans.

Osorio expected, or perhaps hoped, the store would see similar traffic at the start of the Thanksgiving holiday week.

After the tumult of President Trump's immigration crackdown, that remains to be seen. Over the summer, several raids in the neighborhood sparked protests. But the mass arrests and fears of deportation turned the Fashion District into a ghost town for several weeks after, with storefronts shuttered and frightened workers staying home.

The story was the same in other business districts that cater to immigrants. Although conditions have improved in recent months, merchants are still feeling the pain and in desperate need of a holiday retail miracle.

Local officials and activists are encouraging people to shop on Black Friday and beyond, including by holding a festival over the weekend. But it remains unclear how many will feel safe enough to come out.

Some merchants are "living sale to sale, customer to customer," said Anthony Rodriguez, president of the Fashion District's business improvement district, a private group of property owners in the area.

"These aren't big-box stores," Rodriguez said.

"These are family-owned and, in some cases, generational businesses that more than ever need L.A.'s support. If people can come down and just spend $10 to $15... that's how we can make a difference." On Monday, Osorio said she made just one sale: a pair of utility boots.