{"id":246325,"date":"2025-10-28T20:08:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T20:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/246325\/"},"modified":"2025-10-28T20:08:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T20:08:08","slug":"cyclists-buy-out-tamale-carts-in-chicago-amid-ice-raids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/246325\/","title":{"rendered":"Cyclists buy out tamale carts in Chicago amid ICE raids"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most cyclists bike around their cities as a form of transit or exercise, but members of the Chicago, Illinois collective Cycling x Solidarity<\/a> take their bike love to a whole new level.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As Immigration and Customs Enforcement continues its targeted crackdown in Chicago<\/a>, at least three street vendors have been detained<\/a> by agents, in addition to thousands of others with no proof of criminal history.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So, cyclists are doing their part to support migrant workers who own and operate food stalls in the city.<\/p>\n

\"TwoCyclists bike down the streets of Chicago, wielding chicharrones. Photo courtesy of Cycling x Solidarity\/Instagram<\/p>\n

Over the weekend, Cycling x Solidarity joined the Street Vendors Association of Chicago to lead a Street Vendor Bike Tour. Their goal was to buy out a day\u2019s worth of food from each food cart they visited.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the past month or so, ICE has been terrorizing our neighborhoods, [so] we\u2019ve been riding out in the mornings and buying out street vendors \u2014 buying everything they have so they can go home and be safe with their families,\u201d one cyclist told journalist Priscilla Ferreyra<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In addition to financially supporting the vendors who have seen lower sales in recent weeks due to ICE\u2019s presence in the area, it also encourages them to go home and be with their families, safe in the privacy of their own homes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been really tough on them,\u201d Maria Orozco, development manager and outreach coordinator with the Street Vendors Association of Chicago, told Block Club Chicago<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then the people that have the opportunity to go out and sell or just risk it, they\u2019re not getting as much sales as they used to. So it\u2019s something very traumatizing for people to see. \u2026 It\u2019s very unexpected. I think COVID wasn\u2019t even this bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to an Instagram post<\/a> by the community, over the past weekend, more than 30 cyclists bought out six vendors on Saturday, and three on Sunday. Their purchases resulted in a total of 250 burritos, gift bags, and drinks being distributed to others in need throughout the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And that was just in one weekend. A few days prior, nine cyclists did the same thing with five street vendors in Little Village, gathering tamales, elote, and chicharrones in one fell swoop.<\/p>\n

\"AVendors are often able to return home early after the group swings by. Photo courtesy of Cycling x Solidarity\/Instagram<\/p>\n

\u201cCash from you, straight to them, and then food distributed right back into the community,\u201d a social media post<\/a> from the group reads. \u201cICE might terrorize our communities, but they can\u2019t destroy our spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n

This has been going on for about a month, when the group began collecting funds from community members to buy out vendors in Pilsen, Hermosa, and Little Village, areas vulnerable to ICE crackdowns. They get out early in the mornings so vendors can pack up early to avoid ICE agents.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite the fear in the community, it never fails to move us when vendors are surprised to hear we want to buy everything they have,\u201d\u00a0 Cycling x Solidarity shared on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want every vendor to be able to go home to their families at the end of the day after feeding our city.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cyclists share stories on their Instagram pages regularly, each more heartwarming than the last.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not about everyone showing up every day. It\u2019s about every day, somebody showing up,\u201d one post reads<\/a>. \u201cThis morning, three cyclists braved the rain to buy out two vendors. One vendor had their young child waiting in the car and started immediately packing up after we bought everything she had. I hope they enjoyed the rest of the day somewhere warm and comfy.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to the acts of generosity, the cyclists try to spend time talking with street vendors, learning their stories, and enjoying a delicious bite of their own.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re providing an opportunity to support vendors and hearing their stories, to make this so it\u2019s not just transactional,\u201d Cycling x Solidarity organizer Rick Rosales told Block Club Chicago.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The group is always looking for more folks to join in, including translators, who can help build even more connections with the city\u2019s street vendors.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, it embodies what it means to be an American,\u201d Rosales said. \u201cMy fondest memories are [street vendors] handing these warm tamales for a reasonable price and being able to support them and their hustle. I think a lot of Chicagoans have a similar feeling toward them. They cherish the vendors in their neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u200d<\/p>\n

\u200dYou may also like: TikToker pays migrant day laborers to join him at a waterpark for the day \u2014 and his followers gave them $20K more<\/a><\/p>\n

\u200d<\/p>\n

Header images courtesy of Cycling x Solidarity\/Instagram <\/p>\n