Fear of Immigration Enforcement Hits Family-Run Food Truck in Jacksonville

Burritos Puebla's customer turnout has plummeted amid immigration enforcement fears, leaving the small business struggling.

Jan. 27, 2026 at 5:39pm

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Monserrat Cortes, a co-owner of the Mexican-American food truck Burritos Puebla in Jacksonville, Florida, says customer traffic has dropped significantly in recent weeks due to fear surrounding immigration enforcement. Cortes believes family friends are afraid to leave their homes even for basic errands, and this fear is affecting small businesses like theirs that rely on daily foot traffic. With fewer customers, the family-run business is now struggling to stay afloat financially.

Why it matters

This story highlights the broader impact that heightened immigration enforcement can have on local communities and small businesses. When residents are afraid to leave their homes, it creates a ripple effect that threatens the viability of family-owned enterprises that depend on regular customer traffic to survive.

The details

Cortes says that for months, business at Burritos Puebla was steady, but that has recently changed. She says the food truck now only gets around 4 customers per day, down significantly from their previous levels. Cortes believes this drop-off is directly tied to fear surrounding immigration enforcement, as she has witnessed incidents of people being detained in the area. With fewer customers coming by, the family's business is now struggling to stay afloat financially.

  • In recent weeks, customer traffic at Burritos Puebla has dropped significantly.
  • Over the past couple of weeks, Cortes says she has heard of multiple people being detained in Jacksonville.

The players

Burritos Puebla

A Mexican-American food truck located at 11000 Beach Boulevard in Jacksonville, Florida.

Monserrat Cortes

A student in Jacksonville and co-owner of Burritos Puebla with her mother.

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What they’re saying

“Yeah, yesterday we only got four people and the whole day we were open from like 10:30 to 8 o'clock and we only got four people.”

— Monserrat Cortes, Co-owner, Burritos Puebla

“I have a lot of family friends and they just are scared to go outside and they're scared to even go to the grocery store, you know, and it really does affect small businesses who depend on those people to come every day to buy maybe one or two tacos, and it's, it's just been upsetting to see.”

— Monserrat Cortes, Co-owner, Burritos Puebla

“It's scary. It's not something that should be taken lightly or as a joke.”

— Monserrat Cortes, Co-owner, Burritos Puebla

What’s next

Cortes says the family-run business is offering delivery services and calling ahead options to help customers feel more comfortable supporting the food truck during this challenging time.

The takeaway

This story underscores how heightened immigration enforcement can have far-reaching consequences for local communities, impacting not just individual families but also the small businesses that are the lifeblood of many neighborhoods. As policymakers grapple with complex immigration issues, the human toll on hardworking entrepreneurs like the Cortes family serves as a sobering reminder of the real-world impacts.