These days at Manolo’s Bakery on Central Avenue, owner Manolo Betancur sometimes sits outside in an empty parking lot, looking for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicles. He says that when there are rumors of ICE nearby, foot traffic disappears.
“If the community hears that there is an ICE presence around east Charlotte, around Central Avenue, nobody comes to the bakery," Betancur said. "So there is no way for me to hear what the community has to say."
Business at Manolo’s Bakery has dropped steadily since the start of the year, when President Trump took office and his promise of mass deportations spread through the media. However, the drop worsened as ICE ramped up detentions this month.
“Since Jan. 20, my sales have been going down every month and it's worse than the month before,” Betancur said. “People order big, big cakes that are $400, $500, $1,000. This year so far, I haven’t had any orders. So this is a huge loss for my bakery.”
In turn, Betancur says he’s made painful cuts.
"I have already had to ask three employees to leave the bakery and am cutting hours," Betancur said. "Some good people I've already asked to leave the company. Tough times. To me, this is worse than COVID."
Two miles away on the other side of east Charlotte, Carolina Escobar runs a small massage therapy business, Latin Beauty, that caters to women recovering from surgery.
"I see my clients with a lot of fear, especially because all these ICE operations reduce the flow of clients," Escobar said. "Most of them are Latinas — and they’re afraid to go out, they're afraid they’ll be detained."
Escobar says her clients are putting their health on hold. In the last few weeks, she’s had close to a dozen clients cancel. Each client has appointments two to three times a week, leaving over 30 timeslots open.
“I have seen a lot of fear among them in postponing or even canceling appointments, risking their health," Escobar said. "Because these massages I do help them improve their results, and are always necessary.”
Clients are now asking Escobar if she can go to their homes to provide services.
“Before, people didn't have much need for me to go to their homes, but for a few weeks now, they've been asking me if I offer that service,” Escobar said. “But home treatment is not going to be the same as what is done in a professional office.”
Betancur and Escobar are just two business owners in east Charlotte who are seeing a decline in profits and foot traffic. Earlier this month, Carolina Migrant Network said it received more than 130 calls in one week of ICE sightings in the Charlotte area.
While ICE hasn’t provided details on the scope of its local arrests, it said in an X post that there is “a larger immigration enforcement operation” that includes Charlotte.
“Raids do inspire some trepidation," Wells Fargo economist Jackie Benson said. "They inspire people, maybe not going out there and looking for work when they otherwise may have. Or not going out and purchasing goods and services that they otherwise may have.”
Benson says increased ICE detentions impact both the workforce and spending power.
“When you reduce any population in a local economy, that's going to sap both demand and supply," Benson said. "So, on one hand, you will have fewer consumers going out there purchasing goods, services or housing. And then, on the other hand, you'll also have a smaller supply of workers available to supply those goods and services.”
While fear drives people away, business owners such as Betancur and Escobar are staying open, hoping the immigrant community feels safe to walk into their businesses soon.
“Show some love and generosity and take the risk to visit any immigrant-owned business because we need their business," Betancur said. "It’s time to be meaningful and mindful of where you’re going to be spending your money.”
