Chicago, IL — The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced an interim final rule ending automatic extensions of work permits for hundreds of thousands of immigrant workers with legal status. Here in Chicago, increased immigration enforcement actions have caused workers to stay home, customers to avoid local restaurants, and small businesses across the city struggling with uncertainty, instability, and fear.

In response, Anabel Mendoza, a lifelong Chicagoan, daughter of immigrants, and the youngest candidate running for Illinois’ 7th Congressional District, issued the following statement:

“The Trump Administration’s refusal to extend work permits to hundreds of thousands of people who help keep our country’s businesses, schools, and hospitals running, is a deliberate attack on our neighbors’ ability to work, care for their families, and participate fully in our economy and communities. The people directly targeted by this callous act have legal status, have built their lives and homes here, and strengthened our neighborhoods and economies. They are part of the fabric of our cities — including across Chicago’s South and West Sides.

When restaurant owners here in Chicago say, ‘We are dying a slow death,’ they are describing the deliberate financial consequences of Trump and ICE’s violent agenda; one meant to not only instill fear and make our communities unsafe, but also to throw small businesses into chaos and disarray by attacking the very workers who fuel them. 

We should be expanding work authorization pathways and updating our outdated systems, not manufacturing crises that hurt workers, employers, and entire communities. If elected to Congress, I will champion a real and humane pathway to citizenship, strengthen worker protections and unions, and fight for everyone to be able to live and work with dignity. Chicago thrives when we protect and strengthen the working-class, and I’m running to make sure our laws finally reflect that.”

What’s at Stake in IL-07

• One of the most diverse districts in the country, IL-07 borders Pilsen, includes parts of Humboldt Park and Back of the Yards, encompasses North Lawndale, West Garfield Park, Chinatown and other communities where immigrant families and neighborhood-owned restaurants are central to the cultural and economic fabric of Chicago.

  
  

• Already facing steep economic inequality, the 7th District deserves transformational investments to support hundreds of thousands of hardworking families who call Chicago home. But behind every enforcement raid is a family separated, a restaurant struggling to stay open, and neighborhoods across IL-07 becoming increasingly less stable. 

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Anabel Mendoza is a community organizer, immigrant advocate, and the youngest candidate running for Congress in Illinois’ 7th District. A lifelong Chicagoan and the proud daughter and granddaughter of immigrants, she has dedicated her career to fighting for working families, immigrant rights, and a government that serves people, not corporations. She’s running to bring unity, honesty, and courage to Washington. For more information, visit www.anabelforcongress.com