Busy Chicago district known as ‘Mexico of the Midwest’ turns into ghost town as fears of ICE raids loom

Foot postulation has dropped importantly successful Chicago’s predominantly Latino community, Little Village, besides known arsenic the "Mexico of the Midwest," according to a Fox 32 Chicago report, arsenic fears of deportation person heightened since President Donald Trump took bureau Monday. 

"They person seen mode little ft traffic, mode little customers than they usually see," Jennifer Aguilar, enforcement manager of the Little Village Chamber of Commerce, said astir the territory to Fox 32. "Weekends are immense present successful Little Village, and the magnitude of radical that were retired this play was importantly little than usual."

Considered Chicago's second-busiest retail corridor, Little Village spans 2 miles agelong and is lined with astir 500 businesses, including stores, restaurants and nightlife venues successful the southwestern portion of the city. 

TRUMP GOES TOE-TO-TOE WITH SANCTUARY CITIES OVER DEPORTATION AS ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN SET TO BEGIN

Establishments successful Chicago's Latino territory Little Village person begun seeing little concern aft Trump pledged to ace down connected amerciable immigration. (Fox 32 Chicago)

According to Michael Rodriguez, an alderman for the 22nd ward, which includes Little Village, the once-bustling assemblage isn’t bare owed to conscionable the acold weather. Rodriquez said to the section presumption that radical are successful fearfulness of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducting ample raids successful the Mexican-American neighborhood.

"There's decidedly a batch of fearfulness retired there, and we deliberation it has to bash with immoderate of this little enactment successful their neighborhood," Rodriguez said. "The fearfulness is palpable. The fearfulness is vocalized by our residents. People successful the streets are saying that they're frightened that ICE agents volition amusement up astatine their doorsteps, astatine their workplaces, astatine their places of worship oregon places of going to school. They're frightened of that. That is simply a problem."

CHICAGO MAYOR REITERATES OPPOSITION TO INCOMING TRUMP ADMIN'S IMMIGRATION REFORM

While ICE raids are imaginable nether Trump’s caller crackdown connected amerciable immigration, determination person been nary signs of deportation yet, according to Leo Pargo, a assemblage activistic who’s been patrolling the neighborhoods for signs of ICE activity.

"We've been patrolling," Pargo said to Fox 32. "We've been driving astir Little Village, and done Pilsen, looking for immoderate ICE agents oregon immoderate imaginable raids that would beryllium happening. So far, nothing." 

A motion that reads "Don't unfastened for ICE" is displayed connected a model of a country store successful Little Village, Chicago, connected the time Trump took bureau Monday. (Erin Hooley)

According to the report, arsenic workers and shoppers enactment astatine home, Aguilar said the looming fears volition economically interaction the territory that reportedly rakes successful $900 cardinal successful yearly revenue.

"It makes it truly hard to enactment afloat," Aguilar said. "Especially close present erstwhile it's conscionable the beginning. It puts them successful a authorities of worry, similar what is it going to look similar for the adjacent 4 years?"

"It hurts truly anyone who lives present in Chicago who receives services from the city," Aguilar continued.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PLANNING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ARRESTS THROUGHOUT US ON ‘DAY ONE’ 

A thoroughfare vendor sees nary customers arsenic consumers halt buying successful Chicago's Little Village. (Fox 32 Chicago)

As a sanctuary metropolis for migrants, Chicago is facing Trump head-on aft the president pledged to tackle illegal immigration during his inaugural code Monday: "All amerciable introduction volition instantly beryllium halted, and we volition statesman the process of returning millions and millions of transgression aliens backmost to the places from which they came." 

On Tuesday, Trump’s designated borderline czar Tom Homan besides said that ICE agents person already been deployed crossed the state to behaviour operations. 

Chicago's Little Village is simply a predominantly Latino assemblage afloat of Mexican-American establishments. (Eric Cox/Dan Fastenberg/Alexandra Sarabia/Core News)

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Despite the crackdown, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson vowed to reason the president’s plans and assured that the city’s section instrumentality enforcement volition not enactment with national migration enforcement nether the 2017 Illinois Trust Act. 

"Chicago stands strong: careless of the circumstances, our committedness to protecting and supporting this metropolis remains unwavering," Johnson wrote successful a societal media station connected Sunday. "We volition proceed to combat for the justness and information of each who telephone this spot home."