Sidewalks emptied in the busy Chicago shopping district known as the “Mexico of the Midwest” earlier this week amid fears that newly-inaugurated President Donald Trump would launch his promised immigration raids.

The two-mile stretch of shops and restaurants on 26th Street in Chicago’s Little Village saw a 50% drop in pedestrian traffic and some businesses were closed entirely as Trump was sworn-in as the nation’s 47th president on Monday.

“It’s going to be disastrous,” Jennifer Aguilar, head of the local chamber of commerce, told Bloomberg. “If raids happen and people are too afraid to go out, it’s going to be an impact that’s going to last for years.”

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