Here & Now 's host Lisa Mullins speaks with Chicago Alderman Raymond Lopez, a Democrat, about why he wants to work with President Trump's administration on immigration. Chicago is a sanctuary city and currently bans local police from working with federal immigration officials.

Immigrants in Chicago and other U.S. cities have been preparing for immigration arrests since President-elect Donald Trump won the November election.

Fears of deportations in the wake of President Trump's executive orders on immigration hadn't materialize by Tuesday afternoon, but local leaders are remaining vigilant and encour

I’m in Chicago where immigration raids are rumored. A restaurant owner just broke down crying, she lost 30% of her clientele, they’re staying indoors. “Esto se va a poner feo.” whether there are raids here or not the $ blow, fear is already here. And people say that’s the point.

Fears over possible ICE raids have heightened across the U.S., causing one of Chicago’s largest Mexican-American communities to turn into a ghost town. (Fox 32 Chicago)

The second busiest retail corridor in Chicago is typically a bustling area dotted with taquerias and Mexican grocery stores in the southwestern part of the city. By Monday afternoon it had turned into a ghost town.

A bustling shopping district in Chicago known as the “Mexico of the Midwest” has seen foot traffic plummet by 50% — as residents say they fear the immigration raids promised by President Trump. The sidewalks were empty and some businesses were closed along a two-mile stretch of shops and restaurants on 26th Street in Chicago’s Little Village — the Windy City’s second busiest retail corridor — as Trump was sworn into office Monday.

Activists monitoring for immigration arrests said they had seen no activity, but the threat of deportations continues and the local community should remain alert.