As immigration raids increase around the city, the children of undocumented immigrants have stepped in to work their parents' shifts as street vendors.
The adult children are covering shifts for their parents at a taco stand in southeast Los Angeles, after their own jobs, to stay afloat and ensure there is a paycheck.
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WATCH HEREThe owner of the stand says he is also working for his dad and mom, who are staying home, fearing ICE.
Jonathan Rios is a legal citizen and proud owner of the small taco business he built with his parents over the last 7 years. But over the last couple of weeks, everything has changed for the Rios family.
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SIGN UP “We realized it was real when stuff started happening in East LA," said Rios.
The uncertainty from the street vendors comes after President Donald Trump directed federal immigration officials to prioritize deportations in Los Angeles and other Democratic-run cities.
The taco stand owner says another business had their undocumented employees picked up by ICE. Both his parents are undocumented and even though they helped him build this business, Rios told them they needed to stay home to stay safe.
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For Rios and his siblings, they are worried about their parents, who migrated to the U.S. 36 years ago, crossing over illegally in search, he says, of the American dream that for the last few weeks has been a nightmare with the fear of being picked up anywhere.
"It is a big worry for me. It could be just around the corner, you know," said Rios.
Rios' parents are now staying home and he says they are not the only ones. Four of his employees, who are also undocumented and they are staying home too.
"The kids gladly stepped up and said, 'You know what, Mom, we are going to help out,'" said Rios. “We've got to make things happen, we can’t quit, you just keep going.”
The street vendor has set up a GoFundMe to help all of the employees impacted.
