LA's Piñata District has been pummeled by ICE sweeps: 'A party is now a luxury'

Just east of the Fashion District in downtown L.A., in a riot of color and shape and texture, the Piñata District on Olympic Boulevard sells everything you could need for a vibrant party.

But now, amid ongoing ICE sweeps , the goods are still there, but the customers are not.

On a recent visit, most people in the area were employees unloading merchandise. Talking to vendors was difficult — they were either too scared to speak or too short-staffed to stop and chat.

Nini Santoyo, owner of El Cora Productos, imports merchandise from small towns all over Mexico. She says businesses in the Piñata District have seen a large drop in sales. “You see how lonely it is? There's no cars; there's no people walking," Santoyo said. "It is dead.”

"Everybody's really scared of coming,” she said.

Hug