>> And as Joanna mentioned, since the announcement of Operation Midway Blitz in September, thousands of people living in the Chicago area have been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for many Latino families and business owners.

Everyday routines came with the added fear of masked agents patrolling neighborhoods, streets often in unmarked vehicles as Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, put it, quote, Operation Midway blitz turned ordinary life into a risk for thousands of Illinois residents.

Joining us to talk about the impact, a Chicago communities are Strada marketing communications manager for the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Lindsey Joyce, Co president of the Board of directors at one North Side, community organization that serves neighborhoods like Rogers Park Uptown and Ravenswood.

And Reverend At Grace Church of Logan Square.

So value and a teacher at Nash Elementary School of Fine and Performing Arts.

And Reverend Juan Vargas priest at our Lady of the Rosary Parish on Chicago's northwest Side.

Thanks to all of you for joining us again.

Edgar starting with you for so Crain's.

Chicago Business reported in September that businesses in Little Village were experiencing year over year.

Revenue drops ranging from 20 to 50% as a result of the ice enforcement efforts as an organization that supports those businesses.

How has operation Midway Blitz impacted the livelihood of the businesses that you work with?

>> It's it's been terrible.

you know, we hear so many horror stories of just not seen the same liveliness that see in typically in that neighborhood because, you know, obviously a lot of Latinos are there.

You know, there's always been a community that that culture, you feel it.

There you go.

There.

You know, we had a, you know, some bread.

You can go get some Abe goods.

you going year?

You know, your favorite hair stylist?

It could be everything, right?

Because there's a little bit of everything And you feel that you like going there and you feel comfortable walking around being around your people.

And it's definitely like a lower ditched.

The foot traffic has been immense We're seen and and hearing people talk about how they're not seen that same live in anymore.

They're not feeling like they can be themselves.

They're they're not feeling like they could just go out on a walk on a Sunday, right on the weekends.

That was something that you would see ally, right?

You would go out early in the morning and you know me not being that far away out in the borough and area.

That was some place that I remember going to in my life.

And I always like getting a lot but it.

But right.

And you're not seeing those trees so have a back to all that used to attacked a definitely feel damper on that.

>> A father want father wind, the Our Lady of the rosary.

You have English mask.

You have Spanish mass and you've noticed that the attendance for the Spanish mass dropping significantly since the beginning of operation Midway Blitz.

How's the threat been impacting you as a pastor and your parishioners?

>> I mean, it increases a little bit of the work that we do it just because it involves a little bit more one-on-one.

So going to different homes and encouraging people to visit to call to check in on others.

The numbers I think you mentioned have been, you know, just lower but still strong.

It's not.

You know, we would see like 50 or 70, depending on, you know, any activity around the area, which is what cause a little bit of extra fear.

And also just kind of seen people from the Spanish mass going to the English masses, just kind of to to them.

They feel a bit more comfortable thinking that there's a less of a respected.

just because there's been times where that I call, we signed it.

checking the Jewels are walking around the church, the ground.

So just kind of so people will communicate that with one another and just try to support each other see you all come.

The whole company come together.

I would imagine it's a bit conflicting, right, because in a time of fear, people might, you know, seek God, right, go to the place where they can.

>> You know, commune with with fellow parishioners.

But at the same time, they're freed doing And so big push has been reach out, you know, like us that, you know, feel comfortable and so forth, like how are we reaching out to those that we missed that we haven't seen in a while and also if you have not heard of is someone to reach out to your are not for something to make sure that they're doing well as Check on your Lindsay Rapid Response work.

Is new for one northside?

Not the kind of work that we typically see you do but still seems in line >> described how the organization started to carry out your rapid response What led you to get involved in that?

>> Yeah.

What led us to get involved in it is these are people and what we're seeing over and over and over again is that Chicagoans at, you know, if you come from one Chicago and you come for us all, that's what that to Chicago is.

And so what's that?

Look what that looked like for us is that we built out this.

We call it the the the North Side.

Lakefront rapid response and this is.

So many different community organizer organizations, faith communities, local schools, elected officials and hundreds and hundreds of neighbors and the approach for us with three-pronged.

The first education.

Educating people on the rights, educating people on how to document safely.

The second prong was community defense.

And this is kind of what you think of when you hear about rapid responses, the whistle patrols, the school patrols, the bike patrols being out in the neighborhood tracking where ice is and alerting our vulnerable neighbors so that they can take precautions.

And then the 3rd piece that we're really, really proud of is our neighbor to neighbor network.

And we had over 500 neighbors sign up for this and the neighbor to neighbor Network is a network of trusted allies who are doing everything they can to reduce the risk to the most vulnerable people.

And this could look like.

Picking up groceries for folks that can look like taking kids to and from school.

It can look like helping to fill out paperwork showing up to immigration and doctors appointments or just anything that we can do to help protect and defend Chicagoans.

Because Chicago's an immigrant town, it always has always will be.

And and and these are the folks who have been working to make our city better.

so we we have a moral duty and a moral obligation to make the city better for them.

Governor Pritzker's office last week cited This is reporting from Chalk beat that 38 of Chicago's 77 neighborhoods saw student attendance dropped more than the district-wide freeze since the start of the operation.

About 40% of those that saw the declines.

>> Are home to the largest immigrant or Latino populations.

So value.

What have you seen at Nash Elementary?

We have seen some of our students not come to school because of this.

>> Because we have 30% of population is it populate should now and some of them they have talked about being afraid to come to school, not knowing, but the worst part is we have those students that parents are late picking him up.

could be many reasons.

And you see despair in the >> child's face when you're trying to tell like it's OK, they're on their way.

You're trying to reassure them well, all the time you pray and to yourself like pleas, don't let.

I hope that have been right to be picked up.

So there has been a decline in and then not only that we've had we've lost some students because families have started to move because of the fear of coming in contact with ICE as well.

You said that one of the hardest things to adjust to is is waiting for those for those students after school.

>> How have you have you manage that and how if have, have you talked to young people about that?

Just holding their conversation.

Check in on them.

Are you okay?

Do you want to talk?

How are you feeling?

Just let be in that moment and let them express to you what it is.

And then once once they hear at that, we've got in contact the parent.

That they're on their You can see the relief.

On on their faces and then not only win.

especially when they're at the door and I say hears mom, you could see there running they are running to go get to their parent.

is the supposed to be picking Ice is largely left.

Chicago, though, you smaller presence still remains.

>> You know, having come out on the on the, you know, the other side of this main portion of Operation Midway Blitz, there is talk that they will be back in the spring.

Think a lot of folks suspected it could not take Chicago's a a ger.

There's talk of have any confirmation of that.

But Edgar, like, you know, what are you looking where you see when you look into the future?

What are what are your thoughts about what could be happening next, right.

I mean, one thing that we always think about is we never really know what can happen, right?

We always have to be prepared for the ways and just continue to put in the work read lean on each other.

>> I think building the community up continuing to educate the community, continuing to provide resources.

That's something that we need yearlong right at the ICC.

People need help with their businesses all the time.

So we do business advising we do resource that we do workshops, webinars, we vents for people to come to.

And that's important, right?

Because people need to feel like there's an organization companies that care about them and whether there's going to be more ICE agents on the ground.

We're here for for the community regardless, right?

We've got to continue to B the organization that can support them all year.

Round father couple seconds left.

Same question to you.

What you see when you look into the future as far as supporting parishioners.

>> With the possible return of ice yet been able to see the people that have stood up to them.

You know, my colleague, a graph walking to New York from the different people that have been given the testimony after walking with one another.

>> And encouraging people one bringing that hope again.

But at the same time, knowing that it's still kind of keep the guard, let's continue to prepare ourselves to continue to working together to ensure that when happens again that we we can stand.

Our ground ready for it, OK?

That's where we'll have to leave We may or may not have to have you all back in here to talk about this again in the future.

But