Caption by Ashmar Mandou

A report from the University of Illinois Chicago said immigration enforcement led to $1.26 billion in revenue loss at retail establishments and restaurants in Cook County. The report entitled, Hunkering Down: The Hidden Economic Cost of Federal Immigration Enforcement in Cook County, IL, released this week, examined how heightened federal immigration enforcement beginning in January 2025 affected travel and commercial activity across Cook County. Using weekly foot-traffic data, researchers found that cross-community visits to retail businesses fell by roughly 9 percent and restaurant visits by roughly 10 percent, while visits to businesses in high Latin America–born neighborhoods remained largely unchanged. Researchers estimate that the lessening in cross-community trips corresponded to approximately $1.26 billion in foregone retail and restaurant activity over the first year of heightened enforcement and approximately $107 million in foregone local sales-tax revenue. Researchers said that drop has continued even after federal immigration crackdowns have decreased.