United States.- Latinos in Chicago and other Illinois cities reduced their spending and took refuge in their homes in the face of the controversial ‘Midway Blitz’ immigration operation, which contributed to a loss of $1.26 billion in economic activity in Cook County over one year.
A study released this Tuesday by the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) also detailed that the chain effect on lost local tax revenue amounted to about 107 million dollars.
The immigration operation ‘Midway Blitz’, promoted by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, began on September 8, 2025, and lasted for several weeks, but its economic effects extended beyond its duration, according to the report.
“The impact was significant and sustained, and it was felt beyond the iconic commercial and restaurant districts of Chicago’s traditionally Mexican neighborhoods, such as Pilsen and Little Village,” noted the study by the UIC Great Cities Institute.
In total, they estimated that Cook County, where Chicago and other major Illinois cities are located, recorded $1.26 billion in “lost business activity” at stores and restaurants during the period analyzed.
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“Latinos are workers, consumers, homeowners, business owners, and taxpayers,” declared one of the study’s authors, José Miguel Acosta Córdova, a research associate at the UIC Institute for Research on Race and Public Policy, in a press conference.
“Our work and our economic activity are part of what makes the Chicago regional economy function. So, when those normal patterns of movement and economic activity are disrupted, the effects do not remain confined to one neighborhood or one population,” he added.
According to the researcher, the 1.26 billion dollar loss is only “a measurable part of a much larger economic and human cost“.
“When the daily mobility of Latino and immigrant communities is disrupted, those consequences extend beyond the borders of our neighborhoods and affect the economy as a whole,” he added.
The study highlights that in the suburbs of Cook County “the decline in retail trade was approximately double” that of the city of Chicago.
Residents of Latino neighborhoods, fearful of being detained or harassed by federal agent raids, restricted their outings to do routine shopping for groceries, medicine, gasoline, or going to the bank.
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Outputs fell by 7.7% during the first 19 weeks of raids starting from the beginning of the operation, and then increased to 20% when Trump signed additional executive orders targeting “sanctuary” jurisdictions like Chicago and Cook County, the study adds.
