Community leaders and business owners said one of the deepest impacts of the ongoing immigraiton crackdown in Chicago has been an economic slowdown felt in the hardest-hit neighborhoods.
Saturday marks two months since the start of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement effort dubbed 'Operation Midway Blitz' began in the Chicago area, and community leaders and business owners said one of the deepest impacts has been an economic slowdown felt in the hardest-hit neighborhoods.
In the Pilsen neighborhood, many people said the fear in the community caused by immigration enforcement has led to people staying home. Now they're just trying to survive.Everado Garcia is the co-owner of Del Toro restaurant in Pilsen.'Tables are a little emptier; a little bigger lulls,' he said. 'You start thinking about long-term survival, to be honest with you.'The restaurant has been around for 14 years, but two months into the Trump administration's immigration crackdown in Chicago, which has seen clashes between federal agents and protesters across the city and suburbs, Garcia said the economic impact has driven his and other businesses in the hardest-hit areas to face difficult decisions to stay afloat.'This is not sustainable. I guarantee you, if you have another six months of this, you'll see a lot, a lot of businesses close,' he said.Inside La Providencia grocery store, security cameras recorded Humberto Franco's employee, Amauri, being chased and detained by federal agents two weeks ago.'He was, like, two steps inside already when they just grabbed him and pulled him out,' Franco said.Franco said ICE and Border Patrol raids have led to less foot traffic for his store.'We're about 30 percent lower than we usually are supposed to be around this time,' he said.Javier Yañez, the executive director of the Pilsen Chamber of Commerce, said his group and others are working to keep local businesses alive as they've been losing a lot of money during Operation Midway Blitz.'We're in talks with local government officials, organizations, and other chambers to develop an emergency fund. That fund will be used to support struggling businesses,' he said.Yañez hopes those efforts help, even as there's no end in sight to the immigration enforcement crackdown.'If we try to sit down and develop strategies that will help businesses specifically stay afloat, I think we can weather this storm,' he said.The Department of Homeland Security said there have been more than 3,000 arrests since the start of Operation Midway Blitz in September. Officials would not say when the operation is expected to end.
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