Broadacres swap meet to reopen in North Las Vegas after ICE concerns
Broadacres Marketplace announced Monday that the North Las Vegas swap meet will reopen weeks after it closed its doors citing fear about possible sweeps by immigration authorities.
On its official Instagram account, the market said it was resuming operations Friday.
“We’re waiting for you,” the post read in Spanish.
Broadacres unexpectedly shuttered operations on June 21, days after Border Patrol agents in camouflage with long guns conducted an immigration enforcement sweep at a similar Southern California swap meet.
“We don’t want any of our customers, vendors, or employees to be detained at our business or for us to be a beacon of shopping and entertainment while our federal government is raiding businesses and detaining its people,” Broadacres wrote on its website at the time.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been conducting operations in Southern Nevada as the Trump administration moves to fulfill the campaign promise of “mass deportations.”
While ICE has been mum about local enforcement, it said its agents hadn’t been at the market prior to the closure.
Broadacres, which sits on 45 acres, has been a staple in the Latino community since 1977.
More than 1,100 vendors rent space to sell a variety of items from Friday to Sunday.
“At this time, we are focused on final preparations for our reopening on August 1 and ensuring that our vendors, employees, and community partners are ready to welcome families back to Broadacres Marketplace,” wrote Yovana Alonso, the market’s general manager, in a statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Vendors express concerns
The Nevada Immigration Coalition on Monday hosted a panel for vendors, which prominently featured U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nevada.
“I understand that the closure has harmed people because they can’t put food on the table or buy the goods that are being (sold),” Horsford said.
Clark County Commissioner William McCurdy recently announced a $500,000 grant fund for struggling small businesses in his district, which encompasses the marketplace.
Horsford said he understood why vendors and patrons would be concerned about immigration enforcement at a place like the swap meet under the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
“Broadacres, the businesses that are located there, and the customers — more than 20,000 that go there on the weekend — are all at risk and my biggest concern is safety,” he said.
Horsford said the market operators should meet with the vendors before reopening to quell concerns.
“The owners and management of Broadacres should understand that there’s a right way to reopen and that way is that the vendors and the community feel safe and know that they have the support of the owners and management to make Broadacres safe,” Horsford said.
Advocates, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, outlined the community members’ rights.
UNLV’s Immigration Clinic Director Michael Kagan said migrants have the same protections as everyone else, to “not be arrested without cause.”
ACLU of Nevada Executive Director Athar Haseebullah advised vendors to be weary of spreading unconfirmed reports of sightings of federal agents.
He said the coalition had received nearly 1,000 false reports within the last six months.
ICE did not respond to an after-hours inquiry seeking comment regarding concerns about agents conducting operations at places like a swap meet.
“Those who are not here illegally and are not breaking other laws have nothing to fear,” an unnamed senior Department of Homeland Security official previously wrote to the Review-Journal.
Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com.
