Chicagoans buy out street vendors amid a federal immigration crackdown

Source: AP

Updated 1:52 PM EST, November 12, 2025


CHICAGO (AP) — The cyclists arrive at sunrise, rolling through Chicago’s Latino neighborhoods and stopping at tamale carts, elote stands and candy stalls. They buy out every last item — every tamale, every corn cob, every bundle of sweets. Then they load up the food and deliver it to shelters and families in need.

Since the start of a federal immigration crackdown that has led to more than 3,200 arrests in the Chicago metropolitan area, streets and storefronts in the city’s Latino neighborhoods have emptied out. Street vendors, fearing arrest, have been afraid to leave their homes to work. Local restaurants have struggled as customers stay home.

But as fear spread, so did something else — neighbors stepping up for one another and finding creative ways to show up for vendors and restaurant owners. This includes a grassroots effort to organize so-called “buy out” events meant to allow vendors who fear being detained by immigration agents to go home early. Some Chicagoans have pooled money in their neighborhoods or through local organizations while others have simply bought out taco stands while on their way to work or tamale vendors outside their local bars.

In Little Village, Rick Rosales, community organizer with Cycling x Solidarity, helps organize two of these “buy out” rides per week that typically support five street vendors each.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/chicago-illinois-immigration-ice-c24537965e31860fb07ba83e79de4f4b