Months of negative news have triggered a tough summer for tourism in Los Angeles, deepening the economic woes for a city buffeted by natural disasters and immigration raids. Tourist arrivals fell by close to 10% this season, according to the latest numbers from Visit California. The region's economy and image suffered significant setbacks this year. Shocking images of the destructive Eaton and Palisades fires in January, followed by the immigration crackdown in June, made global news and repelled visitors.
On Thursday, surveillance video obtained by The Times shows federal agents arriving in several vehicles across from the Home Depot and CARECEN Day Labor Center, and immediately running after people, including vendors and day laborers. As people scattered, federal agents can be seen deploying tear gas. A man who was apprehended and pinned to the ground by federal officials was punched in the face, according to a statement by the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights.
The transit agency estimated a ridership count of roughly 23.7 million last month on its bus and rail systems - a 13.5% drop from May and the lowest June on record since 2022, when numbers had started to rebound since the pandemic emergency.
