By ELLIOT SPAGAT, Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — The massive Border Patrol presence on a recent Saturday morning in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood didn’t faze Ofelia Herrera even though she and her husband are in the United States illegally.

She waited for agents to move a few blocks away, then opened their stand serving Mexican-style corn on the cob and “aguas frescas” flavored with cucumber, pineapple and strawberry in the heart of the Mexican immigrant community, just as they’ve done for 18 years. Sirens blared through a chaotic day as Chicago police responded to a Border Patrol call for help and confronted demonstrators.

Herrera, 47, and Rafael Hernandez, 44, have refused to alter their routines during an immigration enforcement blitz in Chicago that has caused many without legal status to stay home since it began in early September. Even some U.S. citizens of Latino heritage are afraid to go outside.

Ofelia Herrera, left, and her husband, Rafael Hernandez, both originally from Mexico, stand inside their home, Nov. 6, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

The couple says working not only pays the bills but helps avoid depression, making them stand out from others gripped by fear in Chicago’s immigrant communities.

“The only thing you can do is have faith in God and not be afraid,” Herrera said in an interview at the couple’s South Side house, already bedecked with Christmas decorations just days after Halloween. “Fear gives way to depression and other things. At the end of the day, they don’t deport you to Mexico but you are sick with depression and other things because you didn’t have faith in God.”

Hernandez agreed. “We know people who have fallen into depression. They don’t leave the house. It’s very sad.”

From an Arizona desert trek to Chicago homeowners

The couple’s Little Village food stand, adorned with American flags, is in a bustling area the Border Patrol has visited often. The two-lane commercial drag is lined with family-owned restaurants serving birria and chilaquiles, and clothing stores with displays of Mexican sports team jerseys and white dresses for quinceañera parties — a coming-of-age celebration for 15-year-old girls in Latino families.

Vendors sell sliced fruit and pottery from parked vehicles. Strains of ranchera music from cars and shops add to the festive atmosphere, drawing Mexican immigrant visitors from across Chicago and beyond. A family from Waterloo, Iowa, nibbled corn smothered in mayonnaise, cotija cheese, lime and chili powder at the couple’s stand under a cold drizzle.

Ofelia Herrera, originally from Mexico, grills corn at her family’s street food stand in Little Village, Nov. 8, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Many of the couple’s friends haven’t ventured outside in more than two months. That fear has sparked a grassroots effort to buy out street vendors, allowing them to go home early and avoid public exposure.

Sidewalk traffic on 26th Street is livelier than many commercial areas in Chicago, even with the immigration crackdown. It is lined with barber shops, groceries and other businesses that have signs in Spanish and English demanding immigration authorities stay away unless they have a court warrant.

The couple knows people who were arrested by heavily armed agents asking about their legal status — an egg vendor here, a tamale vendor there. They described the sting of tear gas unleashed by agents on demonstrators at a shopping center parking lot last month.

Many immigrants, even some with legal status, are loathe to speak with reporters, especially if identified by name, fearful it may lead to deportation. Herrera and Hernandez say they are eager to share their story to foster understanding of how the Trump administration’s push for mass deportations is playing out.

Herrera crossed the border in 2004, followed later by her two children who are now adults living in Chicago. Hernandez made the journey in 2005. Both paid smugglers thousands of dollars for dayslong treks through the Arizona desert. Acquaintances enticed them to head to Chicago, the second-highest U.S. destination for Mexican immigrants after Los Angeles.

The couple met while working at a Mexican restaurant in Little Village. They have two U.S.-born children; their 10-year-old son speaks little Spanish and has been largely oblivious to the immigration crackdown.

Rafael Hernandez, originally from Mexico, sells food from his family’s food truck, Nov. 6, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Their 16-year-old daughter fears prolonged detention for her parents even more than the possibility of them being deported to Mexico.

The couple took a class at City Hall for a municipal certificate to become street food vendors and bought a house for $39,000 in 2017 that badly needed repairs.

From 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays they serve tacos and burritos from a yellow truck in the dirt driveway of their home in Englewood, a predominantly Black neighborhood and one of Chicago’s poorest. Once home to a thriving shopping district, parts of the neighborhood have fallen into disrepair with boarded-up houses. Crime is persistent.

On weekends they head to Little Village, where they work 11-hour days.

Sales plummet after immigration raids frighten customers

They have thought about trying to obtain legal status but they don’t have a strong case and could never afford an attorney. They obtained Illinois driver’s licenses. They say they paid taxes, stayed out of trouble and generally lived without fear of being deported.

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“Chicago is nice,” Hernandez said. “The crime is difficult but Chicago is marvelous. There are many opportunities for those of us who are immigrants. It’s painful what is happening.”

The couple’s sales have plunged about 75% since the Trump administration began “Operation Midway Blitz” in Chicago on Sept. 8, Herrera said. Like almost everyone they know, their phones constantly alert them to warnings about where immigration officers are making arrests and to stay away.

It appears that authorities are arresting “everyone,” Hernandez said, even though the administration vows it is pursuing “the worst of the worst.” More than 70% of people in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in the 12-month period through September were not convicted of a crime in the U.S.

U.S. authorities say they are making criminals a priority but that anyone in the country illegally is subject to arrest. That includes street vendors, according to Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol official who led enforcement blitzes in Los Angeles, Chicago and, now, Charlotte, North Carolina.

“Those folks undercutting American businesses, is that right?” Bovino, a frequent presence in Chicago’s Little Village, said in a recent interview. “Absolutely not. That’s why we have immigration laws in the first place.”

The couple’s memories of how the COVID-19 pandemic kept them inside are a reminder to stay active, allowing only small adjustments. They recently headed to Little Village to buy supplies for their business when word came on social networks that Bovino was in the area making arrests. They decided to shop in another neighborhood.

They have been back to Mexico only once in more than 20 years, a family visit in 2012 that included crossing the border illegally in Eagle Pass, Texas. They want to stay in Chicago but say they are prepared to return to Mexico if arrested. They would bring their American citizen children with them.

“People are frightened because they have lives here, they have kids here, including us,” Herrera said. “We don’t want to go to Mexico but, if we have to, we will. What else is there to do?”

By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is to meet in private Friday with a high-profile issue on its agenda — President Donald Trump ’s birthright citizenship order declaring that children born to parents who are in the United States illegally or temporarily are not American citizens.

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The justices could say as soon as Monday whether they will hear Trump’s appeal of lower court rulings that have uniformly struck down the citizenship restrictions. They have not taken effect anywhere in the United States.

If the court steps in now, the case would be argued in the spring, with a definitive ruling expected by early summer.

The birthright citizenship order, which Trump signed on the first day of his second term in the White House, is part of his administration’s broad immigration crackdown. Other actions include immigration enforcement surges in several cities and the first peacetime invocation of the 18th century Alien Enemies Act.

The administration is facing multiple court challenges, and the high court has sent mixed signals in emergency orders it has issued. The justices effectively stopped the use of the Alien Enemies Act to rapidly deport alleged Venezuelan gang members without court hearings, while they allowed the resumption of sweeping immigration stops in the Los Angeles area after a lower court blocked the practice of stopping people solely based on their race, language, job or location.

The justices also are weighing the administration’s emergency appeal to be allowed to deploy National Guard troops in the Chicago area for immigration enforcement actions. A lower court has indefinitely prevented the deployment.

Birthright citizenship is the first Trump immigration-related policy to reach the court for a final ruling. Trump’s order would upend more than 125 years of understanding that the Constitution’s 14th Amendment confers citizenship on everyone born on American soil, with narrow exceptions for the children of foreign diplomats and those born to a foreign occupying force.

In a series of decisions, lower courts have struck down the executive order as unconstitutional, or likely so, even after a Supreme Court ruling in late June that limited judges’ use of nationwide injunctions.

While the Supreme Court curbed the use of nationwide injunctions, it did not rule out other court orders that could have nationwide effects, including in class-action lawsuits and those brought by states. The justices did not decide at that time whether the underlying citizenship order is constitutional.

But every lower court that has looked at the issue has concluded that Trump’s order violates or most likely violates the 14th Amendment, which was intended to ensure that Black people, including former slaves, had citizenship.

The administration is appealing two cases.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco ruled in July that a group of states that sued over the order needed a nationwide injunction to prevent the problems that would be caused by birthright citizenship being in effect in some states and not others.

Also in July, a federal judge in New Hampshire blocked the citizenship order in a class-action lawsuit including all children who would be affected.

The American Civil Liberties Union, leading the legal team in the New Hampshire case, urged the court to reject the appeal because the administration’s “arguments are so flimsy,” ACLU lawyer Cody Wofsy said. “But if the court decides to hear the case, we’re more than ready to take Trump on and win.”

Birthright citizenship automatically makes anyone born in the United States an American citizen, including children born to mothers who are in the country illegally, under long-standing rules. The right was enshrined soon after the Civil War in the first sentence of the 14th Amendment.

The administration has asserted that children of noncitizens are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States and therefore not entitled to citizenship.

“The lower court’s decisions invalidated a policy of prime importance to the president and his administration in a manner that undermines our border security,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in urging the high court’s review. “Those decisions confer, without lawful justification, the privilege of American citizenship on hundreds of thousands of unqualified people.”

By GERALD IMRAY, Associated Press

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — World leaders arrived Friday for a historic first Group of 20 summit in Africa that aims to put the problems of poor countries at the top of the global agenda but has been undermined by a rift between host South Africa and the United States over a Trump administration boycott.

The weekend summit in Johannesburg will be attended by delegations from 18 of the world’s richest and top developing economies — minus the U.S., which has branded South Africa’s hosting a “disgrace ” and won’t participate in the talks.

The boycott by the world’s biggest economy and founding G20 member was ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump over his claims that majority-Black South Africa is persecuting its white Afrikaner minority.

U.S. opposition

Strong U.S. opposition threatens to undercut South Africa’s chosen agenda for the summit, where the host wants to focus world leaders’ attention on issues like the impact of climate change on the developing world, debt burdens for poor countries and widening global inequality.

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Monthslong diplomatic tensions between the U.S. — which takes over the G20 presidency after the summit — and South Africa worsened this week when South African officials said Washington was trying to pressure it to not issue a leaders’ declaration at the end of the summit in the absence of an American delegation.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa responded: “We will not be bullied. We will not agree to be bullied.”

A leaders’ declaration is the traditional climax of G20 summits and details any broad agreement reached by the members, though it’s not a binding document. The bloc has often struggled to put words into action due to the different priorities of members like the U.S., China, Russia, India and countries in Western Europe.

The G20 has expanded to 21 members, 19 nations plus the European Union and African Union, and is meant to bring rich and poor countries together to tackle problems, especially around the global economy.

Leaders of the United Nations, the World Bank and other international institutions also traditionally attend the summits as guests and U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres will be in Johannesburg.

Others willing to work together

The U.S. boycott of this G20 is viewed as an example of Trump’s criticism of multinational organizations, having pulled the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement and the World Health Organization.

But other leaders have traveled to Africa’s most developed economy hoping to find common ground, especially around new trade deals in the wake of U.S. tariffs.

Banners of various G20 leaders are displayed along a Johannesburg freeway, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

“The African states are searching for partnerships,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said, “and so I will go to Johannesburg in any case and hold talks there. … I expect that we will return to Germany with good results.”

While it often operates in the shadow of the Group of Seven richest democracies, G20 members together represent around 85% of the world’s economy, 75% of international trade and more than half the global population.

“The G20 is such an important gathering, it’s the most important gathering for which Australia is a member,” said Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who said he’d planned bilateral meetings with leaders of the EU, India and Germany on the sidelines of the Johannesburg summit. Albanese noted one in four jobs in Australia depended on trade with partners like those in the G20.

The EU announced a new critical minerals agreement with South Africa in Johannesburg this week and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the G20 was an opportunity to “double down” on their partnership.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, left, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the end of their media conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer would announce a new commercial deal for a British rail company to assist South Africa with the reform of its rail network, the U.K. government said.

“Working with international partners to deliver jobs and opportunity at home is a one-way ticket to growth,” Starmer said.

China increases its influence

Trump is not the only major world leader to miss the summit. China’s Xi Jinping won’t be in Johannesburg after cutting back on his international travel, and Russian President Vladimir Putin won’t travel as he is the target of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant over his alleged involvement in abducting children from Ukraine.

South Africa, as a member of the court, would be expected to arrest Putin if he set foot on South African territory.

But China and Russia will still send government delegations, leaving the U.S. as the only one of the 19 countries in the G20 not represented.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who is Xi’s No. 2, used his trip to the G20 to stop off in Zambia to sign a $1.4 billion, three-country railway refurbishment agreement that will revive a Cold War-era rail line. That will help expand the already extensive influence of China — the U.S.’s biggest economic rival — in Africa and increase its access to critical minerals.

Some analysts say developing world countries, especially in Africa, could take the U.S. boycott as evidence of their need to further increase ties with others, especially China.

“This isn’t necessarily negative. It can catalyze more diverse leadership in global governance,” said professor Narnia Bohler-Muller, an international law and democracy researcher in South Africa.

Ramaphosa, who will chair the summit, put the U.S. boycott more bluntly: “Their absence is their loss,” he said.

Associated Press writer Mogomotsi Magome in Johannesburg contributed to this report.

Vikings at Packers (-6½)

Minnesota quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who claims his alter-ego “Nine” actually runs the Vikings’ offense, had another poor outing in last Sunday’s loss to Baltimore. The only thing more amateurish and disappointing for Minnesotans was their governor’s run for the vice presidency.
Pick: Packers by 3

Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a vice presidential debate hosted by CBS News, with Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Patriots at Bengals (+8½)

Ken Burns’ “The American Revolution” has been drawing rave reviews since its debut on PBS. Viewers have been captivated by the 18th century tales of bravery, brutality and Joe Flacco’s recollections of the Battle of Bunker Hill.
Pick: Patriots by 7

GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN – OCTOBER 12: Joe Flacco #16 of the Cincinnati Bengals warms up prior to the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on October 12, 2025 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

Steelers at Bears (-3½)

Pittsburgh quarterback Aaron Rodgers insists that may play Sunday against his old foes despite a broken wrist. He reported that he has done his own research and will not need surgery, opting instead for copious consumption of horse dewormer.
Pick: Bears by 7

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) gets up after being sacked during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Pittsburgh Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Falcons at Saints (-2½)

Former Vikings QB Kirk Cousins insists there’s “no magic formula” as he steps in for the rest of the season to replace injured Michael Penix Jr. But Captain Kirk is confident that the $27.5 million he’s making this season will cushion the blow.
Pick: Saints by 3

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) throws under pressure from Carolina Panthers linebacker D.J. Wonnum (98) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Danny Karnik)

Browns at Raiders (-3½)

Cleveland rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders is making his first NFL start. While no pregame ceremony is planned, there could be a postgame event marking the historic occasion of Sanders’ final NFL start.
Pick: Raiders by 7

Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders (12) reacts after coming up short of a first down during an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, Nov. 16 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Kirk Irwin)

Jets at Ravens (-13½)

Embattled New York quarterback Justin Fields has been benched for the second time this season. The only way the inadequate passer will return to the starting lineup is if replacement Tyrod Taylor is either injured or named in the Epstein files.
Pick: Ravens by 17

New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields (7) is sacked by New England Patriots defensive tackle Christian Barmore (90) during the second half of an NFL football game, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Greg M. Cooper)

Colts at Chiefs (-3½)

The defending AFC champion Chiefs have dropped to 5-5 and are currently out of playoff position. League officials are responding to this crisis by making plans to double up penalties on Kansas City’s foes.
Pick: Chiefs by 7

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) urges the referees to call a touchdown during the first half of a preseason NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings, Friday, Aug. 27, 2021 in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)

Giants at Lions (-10½)

Former Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is now eligible to be signed by any NFL team after completing his suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs. He won’t find another team unless its front office is found to be using delusion-enhancing drugs.
Pick: Lions by 17

US football player Odell Beckham Jr arrives to attend the annual American Foundation for AIDS Research amfAR Gala Cannes 2025 at the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Cap d’Antibes, southern France, on the sidelines of the 78th Cannes Film Festival, on May 22, 2025. (Photo by Julie SEBADELHA / AFP) (Photo by JULIE SEBADELHA/AFP via Getty Images)

Seahawks at Titans (+12½)

Seattle’s Ernest Jones gave a profane defense of quarterback Sam Darnold last Sunday after his four-interception meltdown against the Rams. To his credit, Jones was almost as convincing at defending the indefensible as Karoline Leavitt.
Pick: Seahawks by 17

INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 16: Sam Darnold #14 of the Seattle Seahawks passes the ball under pressure from Nate Landman #53 of the Los Angeles Rams during the second quarter at SoFi Stadium on November 16, 2025 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Jaguars at Cardinals (+2½)

Arizona QB Jacoby Brissett made NFL history in Week 11 by completing a record 47 passes against San Francisco. It’s certainly the most cherished NFLrecord ever held by a career clipboard holder.
Pick: Jaguars by 3

GLENDALE, ARIZONA – NOVEMBER 16: Jacoby Brissett #7 of the Arizona Cardinals passes the ball under pressure from Keion White #56 of the San Francisco 49ers during the first quarter at State Farm Stadium on November 16, 2025 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Mike Christy/Getty Images)

OTHER GAMES

Eagles at Cowboys (+3½)
Pick: Eagles by 11

Buccaneers at Rams (-6½)
Pick: Rams by 3

Panthers at 49ers (-7½)
Pick: 49ers by 3

Rico Dowdle #5 of the Carolina Panthers carries the ball for yardage during the NFL 2025 game against the Dallas Cowboys at Bank of America Stadium on Oct. 12, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

BYE WEEK

Broncos, Chargers, Dolphins, Commanders

RECORD

Week 11
9-6 straight up
4-11 vs. spread

Season
102-61-1 straight up (.626)
84-80 vs. spread (.512)

All-time (2003-25)
3921-2162-15 straight up (.645)
2995-2959-145 vs spread (.503)

You can hear Kevin Cusick on Thursdays on Bob Sansevere’s “BS Show” podcast on iTunes. You can follow Kevin on X– @theloopnow. He can be reached at kcusick@pioneerpress.com.

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