CHICAGO (WLS) — One year after the launch of operation “Midway Blitz,” a new study presented at the University of Illinois Chicago found significant economic effects tied to the immigration enforcement operation, including reduced spending and changes in travel behavior among some immigrant communities.
Operation “Midway Blitz” lasted about 10 weeks and resulted in approximately 4,500 arrests, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Researchers said the operation’s effects continued after it ended, contributing to declines in spending and mobility among people who believe they may be at risk of immigration enforcement.
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Miguel Orozco, owner of Golosilandia near Belmont and Central, said his business has experienced a sharp drop in customer traffic over the past year. The party supplies store relocated four years ago after losing its lease during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We used to have customers come in from other neighborhoods. But since then. No. They don’t come,” Orozco said.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle discussed the findings during an event at UIC, where researchers detailed the financial impact.
“$One-point-two-eight billion in foregone restaurant and retail activity and $107 million in local tax revenues,” Preckwinkle said.
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According to the study, spending by Latin American-born immigrants in non-Latin American neighborhoods declined beginning about three weeks after President Donald Trump took office and continued after operation “Midway Blitz” ended.
Former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said the impact would be long-lasting.
“That’s never coming back. That’s just gone,” Duncan said. “This was not a glitch in the system. This was the intent of the system.”
Researchers said the study did not focus on specific neighborhoods but found a significant reduction in both essential and non-essential trips made by people who believe they are in danger of enforcement actions.
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That decline is also being felt at Metropolitan Family Services, a state-funded organization that provides early childhood education in many immigrant-heavy communities. The organization is currently operating below its required 90% capacity, according to officials.
Ric Estrada of Metropolitan Family Services recounted a recent case involving a family affected by an enforcement action.
“Just two weeks ago a mom was taking her 7-year-old to the doctor,” Estrada said. “Dad was left alone to take care of a 6-month-old.”
In a statement provided Monday, a DHS spokesperson defended the operation, saying: “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.”
Business owners and community organizations interviewed Tuesday said they do not expect conditions to improve until immigration enforcement operations in the area decrease.
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