Restaurants in Chicago area Latino communities see drop in sit-down customers amid ICE crackdown
By Sabrina Franza
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CHICAGO (WBBM) — Mom and pop restaurants who rely on communities that ICE agents have been targeting in the Chicago area said they’re seeing fewer and fewer customers amid the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown.
One restaurant owner compared what he’s experiencing now to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying foot traffic is the lowest he’s seen since 2020.
The food served at Taqueria La Paz in Belmont Cragin dates back generations.
“Our cooks have been with us 18 years,” said co-owner Nestor Cruz. “There was something about my mom always telling us, ‘Oh, you could always own your own business.’ So that seed got planted in our head.”
Weekday afternoons are normally one of the busiest times of day at Taqueria La Paz. Usually its tables would be full, but on Tuesday they sat empty, something Cruz said is a new trend over the last few weeks as Operation Midway Blitz began and customers started to see federal agents in their communities.
“People are not really going to sit-down places,” he said.
The restaurant’s business model has switched over to mostly mobile orders during their peak hours.
“At the end of the month, it barely makes it,” he said.
One of their customers told Cruz some of their loved ones were detained by ICE, and described how she felt thinking of leaving her house.
“She couldn’t come out. She was trying to get enough money, because now delivery was going to charge her more, but she was afraid to come out. She been a customer for a long time, so I said, ‘No worries, I’ll take your food,'” Cruz said.
Cruz just wants to keep his family’s American dream alive by feeding his community.
“I was raised in this industry. I love how my mom, my grandma and my mom, cook. So my brother and I continue,” he said.
CBS News Chicago has heard of the same trend happening in communities like Little Village and in Pilsen. The long-term effects of this trend are still not clear.
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