Sidewalks emptied in the busy Chicago shopping district known as the "Mexico of the Midwest" earlier this week amid fears that newly-inaugurated President Donald Trump would launch his promised immigration raids.
The two-mile stretch of shops and restaurants on 26th Street in Chicago's Little Village saw a 50% drop in pedestrian traffic and some businesses were closed entirely as Trump was sworn-in as the nation's 47th president on Monday.
"It's going to be disastrous," Jennifer Aguilar, head of the local chamber of commerce, told Bloomberg. "If raids happen and people are too afraid to go out, it's going to be an impact that's going to last for years."
Citing observations from many of the 400 businesses in the largely Latino area, Aguilar told the outlet that pedestrian traffic was half of what it usually is, as residents brace for the second Trump administration's immigration enforcement efforts.
Alderman Mike Rodriguez, whose 22nd Ward includes Little Village, told Bloomberg that "people were staying home" in part because of the extreme cold but also because "they were fearful of engaging" with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
One restaurant owner who was born in Mexico but is now an American citizen said that he gave his employees the option of not showing up for work and some have taken advantage of it.
"This is about how we are going to survive this — and I'm not just talking about my employees, I'm talking about the whole customer base," he told the outlet.
Little Village reportedly generates more tax revenue for the Windy City than any other commercial area, with the exception of the luxury-shop-lined Magnificent Mile neighborhood.
Multiple law enforcement sources told the New York Post that immigration raids were supposed to begin after Trump was inaugurated, but they were temporarily paused after the element of surprise was lost.
Border czar Tom Homan said in December that Chicago would be targeted first and he told CNN on Tuesday that ICE will initially go after migrants with criminal records but other illegal aliens will also be detained if they are rounded up.
On the first day of his new term, Trump signed executive orders that ended birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants and deployed the military to secure the southern border. The administration announced that it will also end asylum and close the border to illegal immigrants.
Department of Homeland Security sources told the Post on Tuesday that Customs and Border Protection agents have ended the "catch and release" policy that was in place under the Biden administration. Instead of being released into the United States while they await immigration hearings, migrants caught crossing the border illegally will be detained until they are deported.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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