From The Hill newspaper,
[U.S.] Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) said the streets of Los Angeles are empty as a result of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement actions in recent months.
Probably an exaggeration. Sen. Padilla suggests that streets are empty not due to mass departures, but rather, whole populations covering in fear behind closed doors.
As much as I’d like to believe the Senator, his anecdotal observations aren’t showing up in the statistics, at least not yet.
Newsweek looked into this question a couple of weeks ago,
Is LA Traffic Really Down Because of ICE Raids?
They report,
For weeks, claims have been circulating online that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions in Los Angeles have led to a sudden and notable drop in traffic on the city’s notoriously congested streets and highways.
Videos and screenshots of live-traffic data posted across social media suggest quieter routes and even unheard-of travel times across the sprawling metropolitan area.
After interviewing Sen. Padilla themselves and talking to local traffic experts, Newsweek concludes.
But claims of an empty 405 freeway, or blazing-fast commutes from the beach to the valley, have received pushback from some longtime Angelinos. They say the dip in traffic volume is being taken out of context, with schools out for summer, the July 4 holiday weekend and general seasonal slowness having more to do with any decrease in congestion drivers have noticed across the city than federal immigration enforcement actions.
As the man once sang,
Sometimes I feel like I don’t have a partner
Sometimes I feel like my only friend
Is the city I live in, The City of Angels
Lonely as I am, together we cry.
