By Yulian Botello — We all have heard the news about ICE raids, and the “Operation Tidal Wave” announced by Perhaps you also have heard about the confirmation that ICE agents are making hotel reservations in Central Florida, reported by WFTV. It shows ICE will be more present from now on and that the ICE operation is likely to increase.
You may be asking why should I care if I’m not an immigrant? You are a customer of businesses that are affected by these aggressive policies affecting local businesses in Central Florida and to us consumers.
Many don’t know of House Bill 197 which would require all businesses, regardless of the number of employees, use E-Verify, a federal database used to confirm an employee’s eligibility to work. That bill would severely affect the process of hiring for small businesses. Although E-Verify is free for employers to use, it would add costs for small businesses, such as staff time and training.
When discussing this in the Florida House, State Rep. Yvette Hinson pointed to a 2010 Bloomberg study estimating that E-Verify implementation would cost small businesses $81 million, an expense that would lead to the closure of businesses that cannot manage the cost in time and money of this change. Stricter immigration policies would also make it difficult for small businesses to find new employees.
According to research published by the Institute of Labor Economics, immigration helps increase labor market fluidity — how easily workers can move between jobs, leading to higher employment rates and incomes. It also notes that spontaneous immigration benefits small businesses that typically lack the resources to sponsor employment-based visas.
Immigrants do not take jobs away from U.S. citizens, as some argue, but help slow the closure of businesses. In fact, since immigrants are also customers, they are a driver of the economy. Immigrants have a spending power of $157.9 billion, and they have paid at least $49.8 billion in taxes just in Florida, according to 2023 data analyzed by the American Immigration Council.
However, that figure will decrease if the persecution of immigrants persists. If customers are afraid to go out, they are not going to contribute to the local economy.
Immigrants are taking precautions, as ICE raids and mass deportation increases. You don’t have to be illegal to feel the fear that immigrant communities have of going out and being unjustly detained. More than 20,600 people were arrested by ICE in Florida from January to October of 2025, with 24% having no criminal record, reported by WUSF Tampa news through government data.
If 24% doesn’t sound that alarming to you, statistics show that nationwide, 73.6% of those held in ICE detention had no criminal conviction as of Feb. 7, 2026, according to data analyzed by TRAC, a nonprofit and nonpartisan data gathering.
“People are afraid to go out” as Beatriz Rengifo, co-owner of an international shipping store, commented “Someone did call me once and said, ‘I need you to pick up a box at my house because I’m not able to go out, I’m buying everything online, I work from home, I don’t go out for anything. I was shocked, because sometimes you think the news is exaggerating.”
Rengifo said her business hasn’t been negatively affected because “People are taking precautions.”
“Sometimes they say they’re sending their things because if they get detained, they won't be allowed to take anything with them, so they prefer to send things ahead of time,” she said. “It’s the same with money.”
Fear is dominating many parts of our community. In an Orlando Business Journal interview, immigration attorney Michael Mendez said ICE enforcement has not only affected people who are undocumented, but also those who have applied for a green card or asylum. The presence of ICE has led many people to withdraw from everyday activities and work out of fear.
Immigrants are afraid to go out. Sadly, I’ve seen this myself, as some of my friends don’t go out as much as they did before these policies were implemented. They are afraid of being unjustly detained by ICE, trauma they prefer to avoid — trauma that affects owners of businesses, customers, and the morale of the community in Central Florida.
ICE and our own lawmakers are freezing our local economy. They aren’t making it easy for small business owners, as small businesses are having a challenging time remaining open, with several customers are too afraid to go out.
Yulian Botello is a composition student at Valencia College Osceola.
