Raids hit Little Village hard

During Operation Midway Blitz, federal agents detained 3,841 people across the region. Little Village became a primary target, with large-scale arrests on October 22-23 and November 8.

Fear emptied the streets

Immigration enforcement kept residents home. Shops and restaurants emptied, battering commercial corridors. A University of Illinois Chicago analysis found one point two six billion dollars in lost retail and restaurant activity across Cook County over the following year.

Gentrification pressures existed before

Little Village faced displacement threats long before the raids. In 2024, nearly half of renters spent more than 30 percent of their income on housing. The neighborhood's proximity to downtown and rapidly gentrifying Pilsen fueled development concerns.

María fought for housing

María de la Luz Rodríguez, 61, helped develop Cooperativa La Villita, a housing cooperative that purchased a six-unit building with monthly charges from $950 to $1,150. The group was working toward buying another property.

“The cooperative is a group of people who really love Little Village.”

She lost her jobs

Rodríguez lost her retail position after her employer began using E-Verify to check work authorization. She also lost community health promoter work when funding dried up. Now she struggles to cover rent.

Selling snacks to survive

The Street Vendors Association gave Rodríguez $500 in assistance. She packs buñuelos and Veracruz-style peanuts into a suitcase and sells at community fairs instead of the empty Little Village business corridor.

“Little Village is dead.”

Considering Mexico

Rodríguez has family in Veracruz and is thinking about returning. She says there may not be much money there, but at least she could have coffee in her garden without fear of being detained.

“There may not be much money there, but at least I can have a coffee outside in my garden.”

Families investing in Mexico

Real estate broker Erika Villegas says several Little Village clients have invested in Mexican property as a possible future home. Land starts at about $35,000, condos at $100,000, and homes at $135,000.

Mexican citizenship requests surge

Requests at the Mexican Consulate in Chicago to register U.S.-born people for Mexican nationality more than doubled, from 3,800 in 2024 to 9,646 in 2025.

Homeowners losing equity

Villegas has encountered homeowners prepared to accept unsolicited offers before realizing they could be giving up $50,000 to $70,000 in equity. Someone who paid off a home over decades could buy a house for substantially less in Mexico.

Pressures accumulate

Owners may deal with tenant problems, building repair costs, or struggling businesses. Immigration status makes navigating those problems harder. Eventually, pressures can accumulate and people lose the will to fight.

“Sometimes people just are also tired. Sometimes people don't have the will to fight anymore.”

Restaurant orders cut in half

Los Candiles restaurant, opened by José Luis López's parents in 1995, saw kitchen orders drop from 40-50 on weekdays to 12-14. Saturdays fell from 90 orders to 30.

“Everything is at half.”

Catering keeps restaurant alive

López began offering taquizas, or catered taco parties, in 2017. He now sells more tacos during four hours at Cody's Public House in Lakeview than during seven hours at his Little Village restaurant.

“We made double the tips.”

Speculators circle properties

Baltazar Enriquez, president of the Little Village Community Council, receives as many as 30 solicitations per day from real estate speculators. Prospective buyers have offered as much as $1 million for his five-unit building.

Protecting longtime tenants

Enriquez's senior tenant has lived in his building for 15 years and pays $800 monthly for a three-bedroom. Enriquez says a new owner could charge $1,300 to $1,500 for the same unit, forcing the tenant to leave.

Business families spending savings

Mike Moreno Jr.'s family has operated businesses in Little Village for over 50 years. From August through November, business fell by half for two months and at least 25 percent during the other two. The family is spending generations of accumulated wealth to stay open.

Relentless property inquiries

Before the raids, Moreno received four or five calls weekly from speculators. Now he sometimes gets four or five calls daily. One caller mentioned seeing media reports about the raids before asking about his property.

Refusing to sell

Moreno's family owns properties in Little Village and has no intention of selling. He usually blocks the numbers from speculators. The family has been in the neighborhood for almost 50 years and plans to stay.

“We're not selling. We've been here for almost 50 years, and we'll be here for another 50.”

The question of choice

Enriquez has spent years building a life and investments in Little Village. The question now is whether everyone else will have the same choice to stay and build their futures in the neighborhood.