Deported Mexicans Find 'Little LA' in the Heart of Mexico City

With its wide boulevards, towering palm trees, old-fashioned coffee shops and classic bars, along with a mix of English and Spanish on the streets, the Tabacalera district in central Mexico City feels so American that it's known as 'Little LA.'

The nickname isn't just about appearances. In recent years, the area has become a refuge for many Mexicans deported from the U.S., especially those who spent years or decades across the border and for whom Mexico feels like a foreign country. In 'Little LA,' they find a more familiar place to belong.

Under President Donald Trump, anti-immigrant campaigns are intensifying, expected to accelerate deportations of Mexicans. Since taking office for a second term in January 2025, Trump has deported about 145,500 Mexican citizens.

The Return Journey of the Deported

Christopher Gil Ortíz is one of them. He was on his way to work in Los Angeles in June when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents stopped him, handcuffed him, and took him to a detention facility.

After months of living in constant fear as an undocumented immigrant in the U.S. under Trump, Ortíz said he felt relief when he was arrested. 'By that point, I was like, OK, it's over, I'm going home,' he recalled. 'They lifted a weight off my shoulders.'

More than 30 years after leaving Mexico as a child, Ortíz was sent back, leaving behind his wife and two young children. Dropped off in the tourist city of Tulum, he made his way to Cancún, but soon had all his belongings stolen from his hotel room. Eventually, he reached Mexico City, where he had relatives.

'I was worried,' he said. 'Even though I was born here, I only had vague memories of this city.'

He also faced the many challenges of a deportee: getting his birth certificate, ID, and finding work. His sister sent him a TikTok post from an organization called New Comienzos (New Beginnings). Based in 'Little LA,' the group was set up to help returnees reintegrate. After seeing the post, Ortíz decided to visit 'Little LA' to see for himself.

'Seeing the palm trees, it feels like you're in LA,' he said, expressing gratitude for New Comienzos. 'There are a lot of people going through what I went through, and I'm pretty sure there will be more.'

A Lifeline for Returnees

New Comienzos founder and CEO Israel Concha says he's preparing for that. 'The atmosphere in the U.S. right now is a humanitarian crisis and panic. People don't even want to take their kids to school,' Concha said. 'You're likely to see mass deportations in the coming months.'

Concha founded New Comienzos after seeing firsthand how little the Mexican government supports newcomers. In 2012, he lived in Texas with his pregnant wife and had built a successful private transportation business. He had lived in the U.S. for 30 years. 'I wanted to achieve the American Dream, and I thought I had,' he said.

Then one day, he was pulled over for speeding on his way to pick up a client. While in custody, he fought the case for two years but was deported in 2014. On his first day in Mexico, he was kidnapped by a gang linked to local police.

'That was their welcome to me in my own country,' he recalled.

After being brutally beaten, Concha escaped to Mexico City, where he found work at a bilingual call center – one of the businesses that began springing up in Tabacalera, attracting young returnees with fluent English. Less than a year later, he founded New Comienzos to address the challenges faced by people like him.

'People don't just need jobs; many need emotional support because they just lost everything after being deported,' he said. The organization offers legal aid, free English certification classes, and mentoring for newcomers. 'Little LA' remains its hub.

'A community reintegration lab,' Concha said. 'That's what we've created in Little Los Angeles.'

Sergio Aaron Pérez, 36, says the area feels like home. Wearing a Los Angeles Lakers jersey and a baseball cap, his face and arms covered in tattoos, Pérez looks like he just stepped off a plane from the U.S. In fact, having lived in the U.S. for over 30 years, the former California resident was deported in 2011 for what he calls 'bad things.'

In 'Little LA,' he found work at call centers. 'If you speak English, you can make good money,' Pérez said. 'I love my city. There's a big community here.'

As for Ortíz, he's not keen on call center work. He applied for a job at a glass factory – the kind of work he did in the U.S. His next plan is to bring his wife and children to Mexico.

'My kids are fine with it,' he said. Referring to a local custom, he added: 'My daughter says she's already practicing drinking soda from a plastic bag.'