Swap meet closes temporarily, cites fears in immigrant community; Senators react

A popular outdoor market in North Las Vegas that’s also known as a hub for the Latino community announced Saturday it was temporarily closing, partially due to “fear and uncertainty” within the “immigrant community in Las Vegas.”

Management of the Broadacres Marketplace, near North Las Vegas Boulevard and North Pecos Road, said in an Instagram post Saturday morning that it was shutting down “out of an abundance of caution and concern for our community.”

The post said Broadacres leadership doesn’t want “any of our customers, vendors or employees detained at our business.”

The decision comes after immigration enforcement actions have picked up around the country in recent weeks, part of President Donald Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown policies.

The North Las Vegas swap meet usually attracts thousands every weekend, and bills itself as Nevada’s largest open-air market. It’s normally open Fridays and Saturdays and features 1,100 vendors, according to its Instagram page. The market, which would have been bustling under normal circumstances, was nearly vacant early Saturday afternoon.

After walking out of her North Las Vegas home Saturday afternoon, Brianni Monarrez paused before answering a question about the closure of the nearby swap meet.

“It’s pretty devastating to the community,” Monarrez said. “I know, as a family, we like to go out there and spend some of our weekends walking around.”

Monarrez, 22, said news of the closure spread quickly Saturday.

“Economically, yes, this is going to hurt the area,” Monarrez said. “It’s going to hurt this community. Lately, everyone here has been a little worried, a little scared.”

At an apartment complex a short drive from the marketplace Saturday afternoon, Miguel Salazar said he heard about the news through social media.

“People have been talking about it on Facebook and TikTok,” Salazar said. “It’s not cool.”

When contacted via email by the Review-Journal on Saturday afternoon, an ICE spokesperson said in an email the agency had not been at Broadacres.

“ICE was not at the swap meet,” said the spokesperson.

No reopening date

The swap meet opened in 1977. It wasn’t clear Saturday when it would open its doors again. Management said in the Instagram post that “we do not have an anticipated date to reopen our marketplace.”

“We are heartbroken to announce this temporary closure,” the post said. “But we cannot in good conscience continue operations while our vendors, customers and community members are under threat.”

A message for Yovana Alonso, listed on the Broadacres website as its general manager, was not immediately returned Saturday.

In March 2024, the market served as a campaign stop in March 2024 for then Vice President Kamala Harris, who was campaigning for voters in the Las Vegas Valley to re-elect her and then President Joe Biden, who hadn’t yet bowed out of the race.

Reaction from lawmakers

Some Nevada lawmakers, including the state’s two Democratic U.S. senators, Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen, posted on X about the Broadacres closure.

“Instead of focusing on criminals, Trump is indiscriminately targeting immigrant communities and pushing places like Broadacres Marketplace to close,” Cortez Masto said in an X post. “These are innocent Nevadans working hard to build a better life. This president’s campaign of intimidation is cruel and un-American.”

“This is devastating and a direct result of the Trump Administration’s indiscriminate mass deportations,” Rosen said on X. “Around 20,000 people visit Broadacres every weekend. Going after law-abiding immigrants doesn’t just hurt families, it hurts our economy.”

Nevada Assemblymember Cecilia González, a Democrat who represents District 16 in Clark County, said she learned about the closure of Broadacres on Saturday like everyone else.

“I get emotional when I think about the hardworking families who are under an already difficult economy,” González said. “This is an economic emergency for hundreds of entrepreneurs and immigrants, many of whom are the essential workforce of Nevada’s economy.”

Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X.