# The Hidden Economic Toll of ICE Raids

> Cellular GPS data shows how widespread fear from immigration crackdowns chilled spending and cost Chicago over $1.2 billion.
- Title: The Hidden Economic Toll of ICE Raids · NPR — Shortify
- Summary: Cellular GPS data shows how widespread fear from immigration crackdowns chilled spending and cost Chicago over $1.2 billion. Immigration enforcement sweeps…
- Keywords: economy, immigration, chicago, ice raids, business, news, Hidden, Economic, Toll, ICE, Raids, NPR
- Source: NPR — https://npr.org/2026/09/08/nx-s1-5955787/new-report-shows-the-economic-toll-of-ice-raids
- Published: 2026-09-08T00:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: economy, immigration, chicago, ice raids, business, news
## The price of immigration fear
A new University of Illinois Chicago report reveals that 2025 immigration crackdowns drained over $1.26 billion from Chicago-area businesses as fear kept residents at home.
## Data exposes the sudden collapse
Researchers analyzed anonymous cellphone GPS data across Cook County to track movement between immigrant and non-immigrant neighborhoods.
## Routine travel vanished overnight
The regular flow of traffic between Chicago neighborhoods collapsed almost immediately after President Trump took office on January 20, 2025, amid rumors and sweeps.
## Non-immigrant businesses hit hard
Reduced consumer mobility cost retail shops and restaurants outside immigrant hubs $1.26 billion, while costing Illinois $107 million in lost sales tax revenue.
## Foot traffic drops never recovered
Retail visits fell 9% and restaurant visits dropped 10% for a full year. Researchers note consumer behavior systematically changed without rebounding.

> People's behavior systematically changed after January 20, 2025.
## Shattering the insularity myth
The study challenges assumptions that immigrant neighborhoods operate in isolation. In reality, residents routinely travel and spend throughout the broader regional economy.

> these communities are much more integrated into the broader economy
## Living in constant panic
Intense fear led residents to alter basic daily routines, avoiding essential trips like grocery shopping out of dread over enforcement agents.

> I have to go grocery shopping, but I haven't. What if ICE is there?
## Record numbers in detention
Nationwide crackdowns led to hundreds of thousands of arrests, driving the U.S. immigration detention population to a record high of roughly 65,000 people.
## Administration claims public safety
The White House defended enforcement operations, arguing that removing criminal offenders makes commercial corridors safer for store owners and patrons.

> Removing these criminals from the streets makes communities safer for business owners and customers.
## Data tells a different story
Despite White House claims focusing on criminal offenders, official ICE agency statistics show that nearly 70% of current detainees have no criminal convictions.
## A broader pattern of loss
National studies confirm the trend: Brookings reports a 1.7 percentage point drop in consumer spending in high-enforcement states, while Minneapolis suffered nearly $700 million in losses.
## Key takeaway

Immigration enforcement sweeps cause severe financial damage across entire regional economies, far beyond immigrant neighborhoods.