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

There's definitely a lot of fear out there, and we think it has to do with some of this less activity in their neighborhood,

Rodriguez said

It makes it really difficult to stay afloat,

Aguilar said

It hurts really anyone who lives here in Chicago who receives services from the city,

Aguilar continued

They have seen way less foot traffic, way less customers than they usually see,

Jennifer Aguilar, executive director of the Little Village Chamber of Commerce, said about the district to Fox 32.

Brandon Johnsonmayor

Chicago stands strong: regardless of the circumstances, our commitment to protecting and supporting this city remains unwavering,

Johnson wrote in a social media post on Sunday

Places like Little Village, Pilsen, Chinatown, their contribution to the city is enormous,

said Rebecca Shi, chief executive officer at the American Business Immigration Coalition

I was walking the business corridor three days ago on Friday, and I spoke with a street vendor who said their sales were down about 60 per cent,

said Mike Rodriguez, an alderman for the 22nd ward, which includes Little Village

I’m an immigrant myself, so the reality doesn’t escape me,

he said in an interview in Washington DC on Thursday

It's going to be disastrous,

Jennifer Aguilar, head of the local chamber of commerce, told Bloomberg

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

Michael Rodriguez (politician)22nd Ward Alderman

Now that we are on the first day or second day of the Trump administration, God knows what the enforcement is going to look like. It is that unknown that really has people worried,

22nd Ward Alderman Michael Rodriguez told ABC7 Chicago

Kwame Raoulattorney General

The language in the 14th Amendment is clear, and not ambiguous,

Attorney General Kwame Raoul told CBS Chicago

One of the main things is letting them know not to sign anything, not to say anything, not to answer questions, and stay quiet,

Little Village Community Council president Baltazar Enriquez told CBS News

I’ve been here for 25 years and I’ve seen many things, but nothing like this,

he said

There was this belief that maybe there was only going to be a certain group of people that were going to be targeted. And I think now folks are understanding that this is going to be much more expansive and not necessarily precise,

Willman said

I think the idea that there is some sort of an emergency here in Chicago will come as a surprise to people who live here,

Ed Yohnka, director of communications and public policy at the ACLU of Illinois, told The Independent

There’s a lot of unknowns — we thought that mass deportation was going to be ground zero here, so folks have been preparing for that, and the questions have been like, ‘What does that mean? What happens to my kids?

chief programs officer Nubia Willman told The Independent

There are limits to immigration enforcement and if it’s appropriate and where it’s appropriate. If those limits are crossed, we will look to enforcement mechanisms,

Yohnka told The Independent

Mario García (designer)american artist

It destroys the communities by destroying the lives of people,

said Mario Garcia, executive director of Chicago’s Onward House, a nonprofit group that supports asylum seekers

Amy Fisheramerican pornographic actress, journalist and writer

Barely 24 hours into his second term, President Trump is already seeking to implement his harmful, racist, anti-immigrant agenda with these executive actions,

said Amy Fischer, director of Amnesty International USA’s refugee and migrant rights program