Sitting within the nook of a cellar in Pilsen, glass of brandy in hand, Miguel Barajas smiled as he watched the tv display displaying information of Tuesday’s historic presidential election.
“My pal Trump received. My pal Trump received,” he mentioned, smiling as he raised his glass to the bartender. The sound of a ranchera tune from the previous jukebox may very well be heard within the background.
Barajas, 64, a Mexican immigrant who naturalized simply over twenty years in the past, mentioned he had voted for Democratic candidates in each earlier presidential election till this one, when he voted for Donald Trump.
“He’s going to repair this financial system, he is aware of what he is doing,” Barajas mentioned.
As pro-immigration leaders pledge to proceed defending the protections and rights of the immigrant neighborhood threatened by Trump’s promise to deport thousands and thousands of individuals to the United States with out documentation, some, like Barajas, are celebrating Trump’s victory.
In the 5 districts with the best numbers of Latinos, Trump received 27% to 41% of the vote on this week’s election, in response to a Tribune evaluation of demographic and voting knowledge.
It’s troublesome to match this end result to what those self same areas voted for 4 years in the past, as a result of the town redrawn neighborhood maps and adjusted the boundaries of electoral districts. But a clue could be discovered by evaluating voting patterns at polling locations in Little Village, often known as the Mexico of the Midwest and a gateway for immigrants, together with many new migrants.
In Little Village precincts, help for Trump seems to have greater than doubled: from 13% in 2020 to 32% in 2024, in response to an evaluation of unofficial outcomes. That form of swing mirrors nationwide knowledge that means the Latino vote helped Trump take workplace regardless of utilizing rhetoric in the course of the marketing campaign that his opponents denounced as racist and anti-immigrant.
For some naturalized Chicagoans, youngsters of immigrants and even some folks within the United States illegally, the promise of a greater financial system and higher border safety outweighs the specter of mass deportations and harder immigration insurance policies. Many mentioned they moved to the best as a result of they felt overlooked and betrayed by Democratic candidates after latest migrants obtained monetary help and work permits, however longtime undocumented immigrants had been seemingly forgotten.
Barajas was considered one of them. Sipping his brandy, he mentioned he hoped the brand new administration “knew who to deport.”
“There are individuals who come right here to work, those that are doing the best factor,” he mentioned. “Then there are those that aren’t doing something good for the nation.”
Barajas crossed the southern border from Mexico with out authorization greater than 4 many years in the past, however married a U.S. citizen in 1983. He grew to become a naturalized citizen years later.
“I do know there are some dangers, however issues are simply horrible for everybody within the nation. Maybe Trump will make a distinction,” Barajas mentioned.
His pal Luis Lopez, 60, a second-generation Mexican American from Guanajuato and Jalisco, voted for Trump in 2020 and once more on Tuesday.
For Lopez, a longtime Pilsen native, the financial system and immigration had been a think about voting Republican. Like Barajas, he doesn’t concern mass deportation. Instead, he believes that the brand new administration will take into accounts those that, with out paperwork, “have come right here to work and who’ve been right here for a very long time.”
“It’s not proper what the Democrats did,” he mentioned, referring to public support that some newcomers have gotten in Chicago and different U.S. cities, together with meals stamps and rental help. “Many of us might have come illegally, however we got here right here to work, to not ask for something.”
This sentiment, strongly contradicted by the town’s pro-immigrant leaders, is echoed by Elena Ruiz, a avenue vendor with out everlasting authorized standing who offered donuts exterior grocery shops within the Pilsen space.
Ruiz mentioned that regardless that he could not vote, he inspired those that might vote for Trump. And when he discovered he had received, he instantly known as his household in Mexico to allow them to know.
“I used to be extraordinarily glad that Trump received,” she mentioned in Spanish. “I’m not afraid. We have been working right here for many years, if that they had wished to deport us they might have achieved so way back.”
The middle-aged lady from Mexico City arrived in Chicago simply over 9 years in the past and has been working with no work allow ever since. She mentioned she will not be upset that many new migrants now have work permits and safety from deportation, the truth is she is saddened.
“They (Biden and the Democrats) did not admire folks like me coming right here to work. Maybe Trump will.”
After all, Ruiz mentioned, “God is on our aspect, and God keen, one thing higher will come to us.”
A divided neighborhood
Newfound help for Trump inside Latino communities has ignited a way of division amongst some associates and households.
Milton Olivares, 28, mentioned that as he went to color for Kamala Harris for 2 months in numerous elements of Wisconsin, lots of his closest associates had their minds set on Trump. They are all younger Latinos.
“I’m nonetheless making an attempt to course of this,” Olivares mentioned as he sat exterior the Cafe Jumping Bean on West 18th Street. “I’ve identified these folks my complete life.”
Olivares mentioned he isn’t stunned by Latino males’s overwhelming help for the Republican Party, saying it’s “rooted in misogyny and patriarchy.”
“Some have questioned whether or not a rustic could be run by a black lady,” Olivares mentioned.
His pal, Jeff Smith, 47, was sitting subsequent to him. Unlike Olivares, Smith mentioned he’s decided to exclude individuals who do not share his identical values.
“There’s nothing that dictates that you need to stay associates with these folks,” Smith mentioned.
But traditionally a couple of third of Latino voters have voted Republican, mentioned Sylvia Puente, a public coverage knowledgeable and Latino neighborhood and civic chief who’s president of the Latino Policy Forum.
“As we all know, the Latino neighborhood and, consequently, the Latino vote will not be a monolith. It is essential to keep in mind that whereas a major quantity voted for Trump, the bulk voted for presidential candidate Kamala Harris.”
Latinos, he mentioned, care about points that have an effect on all different voters, together with financial standing and situation, excessive inflation charges and unemployment.
“What we noticed on this election is the ache of working and working-class America that was mirrored throughout all demographics.”
Sam Sanchez, a Chicago enterprise chief and restaurateur who employs dozens of immigrant staff, loudly supported work permits for longtime immigrants over the summer season. He mentioned it was offensive that the Biden administration has fast-tracked work permits for brand new migrants coming primarily from Venezuela, in addition to Nicaragua, Cuba and Haiti.
“The Hispanic neighborhood feels betrayed by the Democratic Party, as they’ve been ignored in favor of newcomers regardless of having paid taxes and contributed to this nation for many years,” Sanchez mentioned. “Both the Biden and Obama administrations failed to handle their considerations, regardless of having full management of the House, Senate and Presidency for 2 years.”
But what will get misplaced within the frustration with the Democratic Party is the longer term that would doubtlessly have an effect on not solely new migrants, but additionally these with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals standing, their dad and mom, and thousands and thousands of different folks residing in households with combined standing.
While Trump and his advisers have provided pointers, many questions stay about how they could deport the 11 million folks estimated to be within the nation illegally.
Although he mentioned he would invoke the Alien Enemies Act, a hardly ever used 1798 regulation that enables the president to deport any noncitizen from a rustic with which the United States is at struggle, he talked about deploying the National Guard, which can be activated upon order. by a governor. Stephen Miller, a prime Trump adviser, mentioned troops led by sympathetic Republican governors can be despatched to neighboring states that refuse to take part.
While anybody residing within the nation illegally may very well be susceptible to deportation beneath Trump’s plans, latest migrants are on the highest danger, mentioned Ana Gil Garcia, president and founding father of the Illinois Venezuelan Alliance.
The group has partnered with the town of Chicago to offer sources and academic instruments to new migrants, primarily from Venezuela.
That’s as a result of the federal authorities has their private knowledge as asylum seekers, and lots of of them solely have non permanent protected standing, or a short lived work allow that protects them from deportation, Gil mentioned.
According to her, of the greater than 50,000 who’ve arrived in Chicago, lower than half have any form of allow to remain within the nation, and subsequently are susceptible to being deported.
“There are moms who’re afraid to take their youngsters to high school. Some do not wish to drive or go to work as a result of they’re scared,” Gil mentioned.
The day after the election, Democratic state legislators and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights got here collectively to vow to proceed working to make sure the immigrant neighborhood in Illinois is protected and protected against deportation.
“We’ve been by means of this earlier than, and we’ll be by means of this once more,” mentioned Lawrence Benito, government director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
The Venezuelan Alliance of Illinois is planning to associate with Project Resurrection to host workshops to assist migrants apply for TPS and work permits. Other staff’ rights organizations will host the “Know Your Rights” marketing campaign.
Erendira Rendon, vp of Immigrant Justice on the Resurrection Project and a DACA recipient, mentioned she was “disheartened” by the election outcomes, “however dedicated to doing the work we have achieved to make sure so many immigrants are protected.”
Rendon mentioned the problem now’s to guard insurance policies like TPS and DACA, which had been challenged by the primary Trump administration.
“We consider the Trump administration will try and reverse as many immigrant-friendly state insurance policies as attainable and is probably going in a stronger place now than earlier than.”
That means mixed-status households within the Chicago space, whether or not newly arrived or who’ve been right here for many years, may very well be affected past simply deportation.
Whether they voted for him or not.
Joe Mahr of the Chicago Tribune contributed to this report.
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