# ICE’s ‘Midway Blitz’ operation cost Chicago businesses $1.2 billion: Study *Canonical page:* https://truthscore.com/source/4e8714af *Machine twins:* https://truthscore.com/source/4e8714af.md · JSON at https://truthscore.com/api/v1 Publisher: The Hill · published 2026-09-09 · read 2026-09-11 Original: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/6079755-ice-operation-chicago-business-cost/ *A source is testimony, not proof. The document itself is never republished here.* ## Who is named (7) - [Jennifer Aguilar](https://truthscore.com/entity/17301553) - [Great Cities Institute](https://truthscore.com/entity/2687ccf4) - [Brandon Johnson](https://truthscore.com/entity/2de669f0) - [JB Pritzker](https://truthscore.com/entity/6d3a050b) - [Joe Biden](https://truthscore.com/entity/bd14ac66) - [Little Village Chamber of Commerce](https://truthscore.com/entity/c25aab30) - [Trump Administration](https://truthscore.com/entity/cd09fe68) ## What it added - [The decline therefore appears to represent foregone rather than relocated activity.](https://truthscore.com/claim/52420068) > “Within the commercial activity visible in our data, the decline therefore appears to represent foregone rather than relocated activity,” the study noted. - [A DHS spokesperson defended the operation, telling The Hill that removing criminals from the streets makes communities safer for business owners and customers.](https://truthscore.com/claim/f398c6a7) > A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) defended the operation, telling The Hill that removing “criminals from the streets makes communities safer for business owners and customers.” - [The DHS spokesperson said that if there was any correlation between rampant illegal immigration and a good economy, Biden would have had a booming economy.](https://truthscore.com/claim/f0e48d08) > “Let’s be clear, if there was any correlation between rampant illegal immigration and a good economy, [former President] Biden would have had a booming economy,” added the DHS spokesperson, who also highlighted multiple people with crime records that federal officers arrested during the operation. - [Operation Midway Blitz began on 2025-09-09.](https://truthscore.com/claim/24e759ab) > The surge of ICE officers to the Chicago area, which the agency dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz,” began a year ago Tuesday and lasted through mid-November 2025. - [Operation Midway Blitz lasted through mid-November 2025.](https://truthscore.com/claim/1ada66b9) > The surge of ICE officers to the Chicago area, which the agency dubbed “Operation Midway Blitz,” began a year ago Tuesday and lasted through mid-November 2025. - [Federal officers detained 3,841 people, 15 percent of whom had a prior criminal conviction, during the roughly two‑month operation.](https://truthscore.com/claim/60366859) > During the roughly two-month operation, federal officers detained 3,841 people, 15 percent of which had a prior criminal conviction, according to a report from the Chicago Sun-Times. - [Of the detainees, 2,732 have either been deported or left the country voluntarily.](https://truthscore.com/claim/37cbc028) > Of the detainees, 2,732 have either been deported or left the country voluntarily, the Sun-Times noted. - [The Trump administration launched the crackdown over the objections of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.](https://truthscore.com/claim/8c12241a) > The Trump administration launched the crackdown over the objections of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D). - [Pritzker said the study caused real damage to businesses in the state.](https://truthscore.com/claim/831d7ed4) > Citing the study on the economic costs of the operation, Pritzker said it caused “real damage” to businesses in the state. - [Pritzker touted the work of the Little Village Chamber of Commerce in helping businesses rebuild.](https://truthscore.com/claim/33cff59e) > The governor also touted the work of the Little Village Chamber of Commerce in helping businesses rebuild. - [Pritzker told Jennifer Aguilar in a phone call on 2026-09-07 that he wants to continue supporting the work.](https://truthscore.com/claim/14007442) > “I just can’t thank you enough for that work. And I want to continue support,” Pritzker told Jennifer Aguilar, the executive director of the Little Village Chamber of Commerce, in a phone call he shared Tuesday to social platform X. - [ICE’s Chicago-area operation cost local businesses more than $1.2 billion.](https://truthscore.com/claim/e5ea3384) > Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Chicago-area operation cost local businesses more than $1.2 billion last year, according to a new study. - [The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago’s Great Cities Institute.](https://truthscore.com/claim/1bf49eef) > The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago’s Great Cities Institute, found that... - [Residents of Cook County’s Latino-heavy neighborhoods made substantially fewer visits to restaurants and retail businesses in neighborhoods without a high…](https://truthscore.com/claim/1ecbc6d9) > found that residents of Cook County’s Latino-heavy neighborhoods made “substantially fewer” visits to restaurants and retail businesses in neighborhoods without a high concentration of Latin America-born individuals. - [The decline in cross-community trips corresponded with roughly $1.26 billion in foregone commercial activity for restaurants and retail businesses in Cook…](https://truthscore.com/claim/6fa652cc) > The decline in those “cross-community” trips corresponded with roughly $1.26 billion in “foregone commercial activity” for restaurants and retail businesses in Cook County, where Chicago is located. - [Local governments in Cook County received approximately $107 million less in sales‑tax revenue than they otherwise would have due to the estimated decline in…](https://truthscore.com/claim/6c1595d4) > Additionally, local governments in Cook County received approximately $107 million less in sales-tax revenue than they otherwise would have due to the estimated decline in commercial activity, the study noted. - [Visits to businesses in high Latin America‑born neighborhoods did not increase enough to offset the decline in cross‑community trips.](https://truthscore.com/claim/8904b942) > “Visits to businesses in high Latin America-born neighborhoods did not increase enough to offset the decline in cross-community trips,” the study noted. - [Visits to destinations outside Cook County did not increase.](https://truthscore.com/claim/df10fc74) > “visits to destinations outside Cook County did not increase,” the study noted. ## What it cost Reading this document into the graph cost $0.01.