In early September, the Trump administration launched “Operation Midway Blitz” in Illinois and Chicago, an immigration crackdown by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that has had a chilling effect on daily life. Chicago is a microcosm of the federal government’s divisive and potentially illegal tactics against immigrants and protestors alike, now continuing in places like Portland, Oregon; Charlotte, North Carolina and Memphis, Tennessee.

Though US Border Patrol boss Gregory Bovino and Department of Homeland Security agents have left the city (for now), the emotional, mental, and financial turmoil lingers. ICE specifically targeted Latino- and Black-communities like South Shore, Little Village, and Belmont Cragin, actions which have had an outsized impact on local businesses and restaurants.

Latino-owned restaurants, bakeries, and grocery stores have much slower traffic and lower sales as part of the new abnormal, with regular patrons and employees expressing fear of being approached or detained by masked officials.

As a result, communities mobilized, from throwing whistle kit-packing events to literally chasing ICE agents away to protect their neighbors. Others have organized fundraisers and ongoing series, like Zaragoza’s restaurant crawl, to support businesses in response.

Trickle-down Effects Across the Food Industry

In a now-viral moment, Alderperson Jessie Fuentes of Chicago’s 26th Ward was restrained and escorted out of Humboldt Park Health hospital by ICE agents on October 3. Patrols set-up in the parking lots of Home Depot and Burlington Coat Factory, as well as the business corridors where businesses like San Juan Bakery, Mi Linda Hacienda, and Taqueria Huentitan have been serving residents for decades.

The increased raids and intimidation tactics trickled down to the food industry, Fuentes says, and the economic impact is felt across the state.

“When we have less individuals laboring in our fields harvesting produce for our grocery stores or our restaurants, it makes produce more expensive,” Fuentes explains. “Our businesses are starting to see the absence of their workforce: cooks, dishwashers, folks on the register who are not coming into work because they’re afraid they’ll get picked up.”