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Matthew Wilson co-authored the report by UIC’s Great Cities
Institute that examined the heightened enforcement period
beginning in January 2025.
“Retail trips from high Latin American-born neighborhoods to
businesses elsewhere in the county fell about 9%. Restaurant
trips fell by about 10%,” Wilson said, adding that the retail
effect was more pronounced in suburban Cook County than it was
in Chicago.
Wilson said the study did not find evidence that the revenues
simply shifted to other areas.
Speaking on the one-year anniversary of the Trump
administration’s launch of Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago,
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said the heightened
enforcement that began in January 2025 also corresponded with
$107 million in foregone sales tax revenue.
“These are more than numbers on a page. They represent real
strain on workers, families and our local economy,” Preckwinkle
said.
Chicago Alderman Gilbert Villegas said the economic impact
across the country might have been $1 trillion.
“You had industries that were particularly upset, where you have
the construction industry which has predominantly been work that
immigrants have done, farmers, slaughterhouses, the jobs that
most Americans don't want to do but immigrants find as an
opportunity to get involved in the economy,” Villegas told The
Center Square.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said former
President Joe Biden would have had a booming economy if there
was any correlation between rampant illegal immigration and a
good economy.
“Removing these criminals from the streets makes communities
safer for business owners and customers.” the spokesperson said
in a statement to The Center Square.
DHS said nearly 70% of Immigration and Customs Enforcement
arrests nationwide involve illegal aliens charged or convicted
of a crime in the U.S.
“Operation Midway Blitz achieved what Chicago’s sanctuary
politicians have refused to do for decades: decrease crime and
remove the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens who put
the American people in danger,” the statement said.
DHS provided The Center Square with a list of people arrested by
ICE, including gang members and individuals with convictions for
murder, predatory criminal sex assault, aggravated unlawful use
of a weapon, aggravated battery on peace officer, explosives
possession, burglary, domestic violence, and driving under the
influence of alcohol or drugs.
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