Street vendors in Chicago face growing anxiety after ICE arrests

One day after ICE agents detained a tamale vendor in Chicago, members of her family were out in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, selling out their stock in just one hour, but now there's growing concern over the chilling effect that could linger among the wider street vendor community.

On 26th Street in Little Village, the city's second busiest retail corridor, noticeably fewer street vendors have been working in recent weeks amid Operation Midway Blitz, the Trump administration's immigration crackdown in the Chicago area.

"The streets are normally filled," said Maria Orozco, with the Street Vendors Association of Chicago.

Her parents are street vendors, and like so many others they have stopped working since ICE stepped up its enforcement in Chicago earlier this month.

"I do worry for him every time he does head out," she said.

She also advocates for vendors like one man who said, despite his concerns over ICE, he simply can't afford to take a day off. He's been selling everything from vegetables to peanuts for more than 40 years in Chicago.

"Scared because of everything going on," he said through an interpreter. "I'm looking for a way to survive, because I don't have a job. This is what I do."

Friday morning, the community rallied behind Laura Murillo, a tamale vendor who was taken into ICE custody Thursday in Back of the Yards. Supporters bought more than 300 tamales from her stand near 47th and Western on Friday.

Earlier this month, a paleta (popsicle) vendor was taken into custody in the suburbs along with a flower salesman in Chicago.

"I think it's very heartbreaking, and it's ridiculous that they're coming after our street vendors," Orozco said.

For those vendors who have made the difficult decision to stay at home and not work, the Street Vendors Association of Chicago is collecting donations through an online fundraiser.