US cities experience less crowded streets amidst residents fearing illegal migration raids

The once-bustling streets of Chicago have become deserted in the past days due to local residents' fears of raids targeting illegal immigrants that are currently carried out under the orders of the new Trump administration.

This has particularly affected the East Side neighborhood of Chicago which has a 80% Mexican population, Caliber.Az reports citing a local radio broadcaster.

According to the manager of a local restaurant, most of his customers are Latin American, and they are now too afraid to come to his establishment due to the current climate, a trend witnessed in many cities around the country.

“This is destroying the local economy because most people are afraid to go outside, not knowing whether they’ll be able to return home to their families,” he added.

The president has repeatedly said his administration will prioritize deporting undocumented immigrants with criminal histories. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) is publicizing its daily total of arrests, which added up to 3,104 in the last three days alone and more than 4,500 since January 23.

The crackdown on criminal illegal migrants has sparked controversy within the US population, however stricter enforcement of the nation’s imm-igration laws have been practiced by most presidents. Former President Joe Biden’s administration deported more than 271,000 people in 2024 making it the largest such operation since 2014, according to US media reports.

By Nazrin Sadigova