As federal agents, including Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino, continued immigration enforcement operations in the Chicago area on Wednesday, the Back of the Yards community was rallying to support the family of a 68-year-old tamale vendor who was detained on Tuesday.

Federico Diaz Acevedo's family said he's lived in Chicago for more than two decades, but fears that have enveloped them and their community have become a reality.

Surveillance video shows Acevedo setting up his cart at 47th and Hermitage in the Back of the Yards neighborhood to sell tamales on Tuesday. Minutes later, two federal agents arrived, approached Acevedo – known to many as "Don Federico" – detained him, and drove away, leaving his cart behind.

His daughter-in-law, Alexy Marin, said the agents came out of nowhere. She said her father-in-law had stopped selling tamales for a few weeks when federal agents arrived in September to launch Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago.

But he told her he had bills and rent to pay, and returned to selling tamales from his cart.

In a recent video posted on social media, Acevedo was seen selling his homemade food in cold temperatures, but now his family is worried for the grandfather of two.

Marin said he has asthma and heart health issues.

Now his case is being highlighted by local organizations, including with a GoFundMe campaign.

The family is hoping funds can assist with legal fees, or can help Acevedo if he's deported to Mexico.

For now, all that is left behind is his tamale cart and a sense of uncertainty about his future.

The family said, at last check, Acevedo was transferred to a federal facility in Indiana.