The Trump administration’s intensified deportation operations in Chicago’s Little Village have devastatingly impacted the local economy, with businesses experiencing sharp sales declines and community members avoiding public spaces due to fear. This crackdown, part of “Operation Midway Blitz,” has led to widespread economic paralysis in one of Chicago’s busiest commercial corridors.
In Chicago’s Little Village, a neighborhood that is 81% Hispanic, the Trump administration’s deportation push that began on September 8 has frozen economic activity. Business owners report that customers are too frightened to walk the streets, leading to plunging sales, employees staying home, and temporary store closures. More than 1,000 people have been arrested in the Department of Homeland Security’s “Operation Midway Blitz,” creating an atmosphere of terror. The economic fallout is stark, with local enterprises suffering immediate and severe losses.
Specific examples highlight the crisis. Mike Moreno, owner of Moreno’s liquor store—the first Latino-owned liquor store in Illinois—said sales have dropped 60% since September. He described immigration agents roaming the neighborhood in loops to intimidate residents, arresting both unauthorized immigrants and U.S. citizens. Marcela Rodriguez, a franchise operator of Los Mangos ice cream chain, noted that people are not stepping outside, kids are skipping school, and her business “completely went downhill.” Ice cream sales now directly correlate with the visibility of immigration agents, with quiet days seeing an uptick in customers.
The economic impact extends beyond individual businesses. Undocumented immigrants are not just workers but crucial consumers, spending roughly $300 billion in 2023 and paying over $90 billion in federal, state, and local taxes in 2024. This spending powers local economies and supports municipal budgets through sales, property, and business taxes. A slowdown in Little Village threatens spillover effects on Chicago, including lower tax revenues, store closures, reduced supply chain orders, and a hit to the real estate market, according to Teresa Córdova of the University of Illinois Chicago’s Great Cities Institute.
Historically, immigrants have been vital to revitalizing areas like Little Village. Beginning in the 1960s and 1970s, Hispanic immigrants helped stabilize the neighborhood as Chicago lost manufacturing jobs and people moved to the suburbs. A. K. Sandoval-Strausz, a history professor at Penn State, emphasized that the influx of immigrants has been an “economic lifeline” for many northern industrial cities and later the South, preventing further decline and fostering renewal.
The White House defends the deportation push, with spokesperson Kush Desai calling an isolated focus on immigrant spending and taxes “idiotic” due to incalculable costs like crime, strained healthcare, inflated real estate, and overburdened schools. The administration cites research from the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which claims American taxpayers spend at least $182 billion annually on costs for unauthorized immigrants. However, critics argue that these figures are contested and that the economic benefits of immigrants are substantial.
Broader economic indicators show the deportation push’s ripple effects. Immigrants and their families are sending more money to home countries—remittances to many Latin American countries have seen double-digit increases—while tightening their wallets in the U.S. TD Bank estimates that reduced spending by undocumented workers will subtract 0.7 percentage points from consumer spending growth this year. The bankruptcy of Tricolor, a subprime auto lender for unauthorized immigrants, signals pressure in niche markets, and major brands like PepsiCo and Wingstop report decreased spending among Hispanic customers in heavily Hispanic neighborhoods.
Looking ahead, the Trump administration is ramping up detention capabilities to reach a goal of one million deportations annually, supported by Republicans’ legislation that triples ICE’s budget. Eric Rodriguez of UnidosUS warns that as deportations scale up, the economic effects will intensify, reducing employment and wages even for native-born citizens. With no signs of de-escalation, the continued crackdown threatens to exacerbate economic hardships for communities and the broader economy.