Factory car park is empty and Home Depot store is eerily quiet amid social media claims illegal immigrants are staying away amid Donald Trump's crackdown
Illegal migrants fearing deportation are said to be in hiding, turning usually crowded factories, warehouses and grocery stores into ghost towns.
President Donald Trump has order federal agents to at least 1,200 to 1,500 illegal aliens each day as part of his sweeping immigration crackdown.
Scared undocumented migrants began hunkering down after Trump took office for the second time last week, with dozens failing to turn up to work.
Only 10 out of the usually 40 to 50 migrants workers attended their shifts at a factory in Joliet, Illinois last week, The Chicago Tribune reported, as six federal agencies swept the Greater Chicago area for 'potentially dangerous criminal aliens'.
Locals claim a Home Depot parking lot that is normally packed with day laborers seeking work was 'eerily quiet' with just a men standing around.
Sunday mass at Chicago's St. Agnes of Bohemia Catholic Church was also unusually empty, parishioners claim, likely because the Trump Administration relaxed rules governing enforcement actions at 'sensitive' locations such as schools, churches and workplaces.
Social media is flooding with reports of empty factory parking lots, doctor's office waiting rooms, grocers and big box stores, such as Walmart, in wake of Trump's mass deportation efforts.
Immigration officials arrested nearly 1,000 illegal migrants on Sunday alone as the White House praised the federal agents who are 'working tirelessly to protect our communities'.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported making a total of 593 arrests on Friday and 286 arrests on Saturday. In the 2024 federal fiscal year, it averaged around 310 per day, according to agency data.

Scared undocumented migrants began hunkering down after Trump took office for the second time last week, with dozens failing to turn up to work. A Home Depot in Chicago, Illinois was empty amid the immigration crackdown

Fiesta Mart, a popular Mexican grocery chain in the south, was 'empty' last week, according to X users who claim that 'absolutely no one' was in the store during standard opening hours

Others have described similar scenes at Walmart stores, with one sharing footage of barren aisleways at the big box retailer's Kern County, California location
Undocumented migrants are taking 'precautions' and trying to 'stay home' as long as possible an the risk of deportation increases.
'People are hiding,' Dolores Castañeda, a community leader in the Little Village, one of Chicago's largest Mexican immigrant communities, told the newspaper.
'I don't think anyone knows what to do.'
The manger of a popular bar in the city's popular North Side claims that several of his employees were concerned about the raids and at least one requested time off.
He claimed to 'understand their fear' but warned that his business, along with others in the area, 'will not be able to operate' without their staff.
Similarly, business groups predict that if migrants continue to hide long-term it will cause 'an effect similar to the pandemic'.
Fiesta Mart, a popular Mexican grocery chain in the south, was 'empty' last week, according to social media users who claim that 'absolutely no one' was in the store during standard opening hours.
Others have described similar scenes at Walmart stores, with one sharing footage of barren aisleways at the big box retailer's Kern County, California location.
Another X user shared footage captured at an apparent factory where everything was 'dead quiet, except for the wind'. The facility was located in an undisclosed snowy location.
'ICE has run all the migrant workers,' the poster wrote.

One X user shared footage captured at an apparent factory where everything was 'dead quiet, except for the wind'. The facility was located in an undisclosed snowy location. 'ICE has run all the migrant workers,' the poster wrote

ICE agents raided the Japanese Topre factory in Springfield, Ohio - a rural area that made headlines over its Haitian migrant population in the run-up to the 2024 election - on Friday, according to social media reports. Staff turn out has reportedly been low since the raid

Sunday mass at Chicago's St. Agnes of Bohemia Catholic Church was also unusually empty, parishioners claim, likely because the Trump Administration relaxed rules governing enforcement actions at 'sensitive' locations such as schools, churches and workplaces

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said it made 956 arrests nationwide on Sunday and 286 on Saturday
ICE agents raided a factory in Springfield, Ohio - a rural area that made headlines over its Haitian migrant population in the run-up to the 2024 election - on Friday, according to social media reports.
One X user claims that following the raid at the Japanese Topre last week, staffing turn out has been low.
'Supposedly they had no 1st shift that day,' the user wrote. 'Topre normally operates 3 shifts, 24/7. I've NEVER seen the parking lot this empty, even on a Sunday.'
Some of Springfield's estimated 15,000 Haitians are seeking solace and divine intervention in their churches or at shops that sell spiritual products - a stark contrast to those in Chicago who failed to attend mass on Sunday.
Springfield community leaders say many are overwhelmed by fears Trump will end or let expire the Temporary Protected Status program that allows them to remain in the US legally.
'The community is panicking.' said Viles Dorsainvil, the leader of Springfield's Haitian Community Help and Support Center. 'They see the arrests on TV in other parts of the country and they don't know what´s going to happen.'

Border czar Tom Homan said 'multiple public safety threats' were arrested in Chicago on Sunday, including convicted murderers, Tren de Aragua gang members and sex offenders

ICE agents arrest an illegal migrant from Guatemala convicted of lewd and lascivious acts with a child in San Francisco on Thursday

Meanwhile, some of Springfield, Ohio's estimated 15,000 Haitians are seeking solace and divine intervention in their churches or at shops that sell spiritual products - a stark contrast to those in Chicago who failed to attend mass on Sunday

Rev. Reginald Silencieux greets congregants during a service at the First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield, Sunday, January 26, 2025, in Springfield, Ohio
Last year, Trump falsely accused Haitians in Springfield of eating their neighbor's cats and dogs. The false rumors exacerbated fears about division and anti-immigrant sentiment in the mostly white, blue-collar city of about 59,000.
In the weeks after his comments, schools, government buildings and the homes of elected officials were targeted with dozens of bomb threats.
'Before, we had a different type of fear - it was a fear of retaliation, whether it was the far right, the Proud Boys,' said Jacob Payen, a Haitian community leader and owner of Milokan Botanica, a religious shop that sells Haitian spiritual and natural healing products.
'Now, there's a fear of deportation. That keeps a lot of people from going out and has caused a lot of people to have left,' he said, pointing to the usually busy commercial plaza where his business is located and that was now more quiet than usual.
The migration concerns of clergy and other community members in Springfield are shared by many faith leaders nationwide. In several cities, including New York, Philadelphia and Portland, Oregon, interfaith groups are discussing how to provide security and support to migrants in their communities, including those who are undocumented.

Homeland Security and ICE agents arrested 'criminal aliens that threaten our communities' in Atlanta, Georgia on Sunday

At least 50 illegal immigrants have been arrested during a raid on a Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang party in Colorado on Sunday

Homeland Security, Enforcement and Removal Operations agents and the Justice Department arrested at least illegal aliens in Florida on Sunday, according to officials in Miami
Trump's border czar on Sunday defended raiding churches and schools as part of a crackdown on illegal immigration.
Asked about the rule change, Tom Homan, who was tapped to oversee Trump's hard-line immigration agenda, said Sunday it sends a clear message.
'There's consequences of entering the country illegally. If we don't show there's consequences, you're never going to fix the border problem,' Homan, who is also the former head of ICE, said.
On Thursday, leaders of three Catholic organizations blasted the rule change that allows raids on churches and schools, saying in a joint statement that 'turning places of care, healing and solace into places of fear and uncertainty... will not make our communities safer.'
When pressed on the Catholic opposition, Homan stood firm. 'We're enforcing laws Congress enacted and the president signed. If they don't like it, change the law.'
Vice President JD Vance, who was also asked about the Catholic pushback in an interview broadcast Sunday, accused one group of being worried about losing funds in the immigration crackdown.
'I think that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns? Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?' he told CBS's 'Face the Nation.'

Donald Trump's crackdown on immigration has ramped up with federal agents arresting nearly 1,000 illegal migrants in one day
All eyes during Trump's first week in office have been on immigration enforcement and deportations, though it was unclear to what extent actions have increased from predecessor Joe Biden.
Homan called on Congress to pass additional funding for dealing with those arrested.
'We're gonna need more ICE beds, a minimum of 100,000,' he told ABC News. 'We're going to try to be efficient. But with more money we have, the more we can accomplish.'
Trump has been unhappy with the number of arrests so far and has directed federal immigration officials to meet higher detention quotas, the Washington Post reported Sunday.
It said he was ordering ICE to raise the arrest numbers from a few hundred a day to at least 1,200 to 1,500, citing people with knowledge of internal briefings.