Chicago's bustling shopping district, known as the “Mexico of the Midwest,” has seen traffic plummet by 50% as residents say they are concerned about immigration raids promised by President Trump.
Two miles of sidewalks lined with shops and restaurants on 26th Street in Chicago's Little Village (the Windy City's second busiest retail street) are empty and some businesses are closed as President Trump was inaugurated on Monday. did.
“It's going to be a dire situation,” said Jennifer Aguilar, president of the local chamber of commerce. told Bloomberg.
“If an attack happens and people are too scared to go out, the effects will be felt for years.”
Aguilar said many of the roughly 400 businesses in Latino-majority areas are seeing a 50% drop in foot traffic as immigration raids are expected to begin soon.
City Councilman Mike Rodriguez, whose 22nd Ward includes Little Village, told Bloomberg that businesses and residents are concerned.
Councilman Mike Rodriguez, whose 22nd Ward includes Little Village, also told Bloomberg that “people stayed home.”
“They were afraid of interacting with ICE, he said, but also because of the cold.
A Mexican-born restaurant owner who is now an American citizen said some of his employees have stopped coming to work since he gave them the option.
“This is about how we survive this situation. I'm not just talking about our employees, I'm talking about our entire customer base,” he told the outlet. Ta.
The typically thriving commercial district brings in more tax revenue to City Hall than any other retail district outside of Chicago's iconic Magnificent Mile, which is lined with upscale stores.
The deportation raids were reportedly scheduled to begin after Trump's inauguration, but have been postponed for now because they lost the element of surprise, multiple law enforcement sources told the Post.
New “border czar” Tom Homan, who had vowed to target Chicago first in December, told CNN on Tuesday that federal authorities would first round up immigrants with criminal records, but not others. He said if he encountered illegal immigrants, he would also detain them.
Illinois Democratic Governor JB Pritzker told reporters on Tuesday ICE is reportedly targeting as many as 2,000 people.
“I want to be clear about my position and what the law is here: If you have a violent criminal who has been convicted of a violent crime and is in the country illegally, they should be deported. ” he said.
On his first day back at the White House, President Trump signed an executive order ending birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants and sending troops to control the southern border.
The Trump administration also announced it would abolish the asylum system and close the border to illegal immigration.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials also ended the Biden administration's “catch-in-release” policy. Under President Trump's order, immigrants caught crossing the border illegally will no longer be released in the United States while awaiting immigration hearings. Instead, they will be detained until they are deported, a Department of Homeland Security official told The Post on Tuesday.
Some immigrants who had been waiting weeks to enter the U.S. using the CBP One app broke down in tears when the app shut down on President Trump's inauguration.
