Federal prosecutors say two men accused of leading a group suspected of smuggling 20,000 people without permanent U.S. legal status into the country from Guatemala have been arrested in Los Angeles.

By midafternoon, it appeared that the operation — if indeed one had been launched — had not been anywhere near as widespread as many had predicted.

In Corona, a once-vibrant New York City enclave home to generations of Latino immigrants, the threat of mass deportations has made many residents afraid to go outside.

What appeared to be a series of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in the Los Angeles area had some local officials and immigrant-rights activists on edge Friday, again heightening fears of widespread raids anticipated under President Donald Trump’s hard-line stance on illegal immigration.