ICE anxiety puts chill on WA’s largest open-air market. ‘People are fearful’
Barren stalls. Uncrowded walkways. Empty restaurant tables.
Usually crowd sizes rival the population of a small town, but lately Washington state’s largest open-air flea market is starting to feel more like a ghost town.
The Pasco Flea Market’s familiar bustle is missing this year. That’s because fears about arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have some customers and vendors avoiding the sprawling 70-acre site at the east end of town.
Many of the vendors and customers are Latino immigrants.
On a typical weekend in past years, 8,000-10,000 people work and shop beneath the tent-covered marketplace at 3620 E. Lewis Pl., off Highway 12.
The market can be a one-stop shop for construction workers looking for tools, clothing and boots, restaurant owners in need of pots and spices and families browsing for popular children’s toys.
Where there were hundreds of vendors, some areas are cleared out now, raising concerns about the market’s future.
Can businesses survive?
Sipping on ice water, Clementina Villegas sits at the counter of her restaurant, D’Volada.
It’s a hot Saturday afternoon but the space is empty during peak lunch hours.
Villegas told the Tri-City Herald that she’s noticed fewer customers and vendors since the market opened in March. It’s open on weekends through October.
Earlier this summer, unconfirmed rumors blew up on social media that ICE had been spotted outside the market. While ICE has made arrests across the state, including in Pasco, the Herald has not confirmed any activity or arrests at the market.
“People are fearful,” Villegas said. “They aren’t just rumors. People are seeing raids happen in Las Vegas and Los Angeles.”
Markets in Denver, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and other cities have seen shops shutter and visitors decrease.
There was a raid on June 14 at the Santa Fe Springs Swap Meet outside of Los Angeles. The number of people swept up during the raid remains unclear.
Concerns about ICE activity even caused an entire market in Las Vegas to close indefinitely.
Villegas said this year is different. She’s been selling Mexican eats at the market for 35 years.
She travels every weekend from her brick-and-mortar restaurant in Hermiston, Ore., to serve customers at the market.
But with fewer weekend sales, she wonders if she’ll be able to turn a profit after paying rent on her space in Pasco.
Flea market ‘in danger’
Gabriel Portugal is the former president of the Tri-Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He told the Herald that anxiety about ICE raids is one reason why people aren’t coming to the market.
Portugal saw the unconfirmed videos and messages circulate in June about the possibility of an ICE raid at the market.
“The flea market is in danger because of some of these effects,” he said.
Visitors also may be deterred by because prices in general are rising.
He’s heard from vendors who estimate they are seeing just half as many customers this year and their income has fallen 75%.
That’s resulted in about 20% of the sellers having to close their stands, leaving them questioning if it’s worth their time and money to be there each weekend.
Kyle Robinson manages the market. His father Bill Robinson opened the business on two acres in 1987 near the King City truck stop before moving the operation to the current lot.
Kyle admitted that June and July at the market this year were slower than during the COVID-19 pandemic but he didn’t want to talk about what might be to blame.
Trying to hang on
Manuel Palfas pours out refreshing aguas frescas beverages at his stand Te Juino Estilo Colíma.
He has a corner stand near the market’s entrance, so there is constant foot traffic around his business.
He said that in his first week at the flea market in March, his sales were down by 65% and there were 30% fewer vendors compared to the year before.
Vendors say that they don’t communicate with each other across the market — Gilbert Estrada owns a stand with belts, hats and leather goods and said he only stays in touch with the restaurant owner next door.
Estrada said there’s not the usual traffic.
At least Sundays are busier than Saturdays, he said.
Whether the market can recover is unclear.
Vendors may be reconsidering if their business will survive through October and if they will return next year.
Hours at the Pasco Flea Market are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday and 7 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday. Saturdays are free and there is a $2 admission for adults on Sundays. The market is open from March-October.
This story was originally published August 1, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
