3 leaders who work with Chicago’s immigrant communities reflect on the toll of Operation Midway Blitz

WBEZ by Kristen Schorsch, Mary Ellen Ritter, and Navya Shukla, September 2026 

Over the last year, immigrants in many communities in Chicago and the suburbs have experienced such a rollercoaster of emotions as federal immigration agents have detained people without legal immigration status and others who also were swept up in arrests as part of President Donald Trump’s mass-deportation campaign.

They’re not the only ones to have been left reeling. People trying to help them have felt this, too — community leaders, social workers and people who provide mental health services for immigrants and their families.

“Secondary trauma was so pervasive,” says Mauricio Cifuentes, director of programs for the Family Service and Mental Health Center of Cicero.

Many of these helpers are immigrants themselves, with stories of their own families’ journeys to the United States. These are the stories of three of them. They speak of how Operation Midway Blitz has affected them and what they do to cope.

Read more at WBEZ.