The footage was striking. A food delivery worker scrambled with his e-bike across a bridge in Chicago, chased by a group of armed, masked federal agents. One agent yelled, “Get him!” before the worker ultimately slipped away. This viral clip became a rallying point for critics of President Donald Trump’s deportation efforts, which have spread to multiple cities and have swept up citizens in the process. For Mike Peregudov, the co-founder of the e-bike subscription service Whizz, the video was a visceral representation of the fear delivery workers have described to his team for weeks in Chicago.
The threat of being detained by Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or other agencies helping the administration’s deportation efforts has become measurable in Whizz’s own metrics. Peregudov explained that the reason Whizz’s fleet has not grown in Chicago in the last month is that it has become way harder to deliver a food order in the city.
Whizz is relatively new to Chicago, having launched there only a few months ago. Peregudov stated the company’s fleet was growing really fast over the summer, from zero bikes in March to around 300 by the end of July. This growth was encouraging for Whizz’s mission of providing safe, reliable, and affordable bikes for delivery workers, who have historically relied on a mix of products with questionable reliability.
The dynamics changed in August when Trump threatened to send National Guard troops into the city, according to Peregudov. Growth not only halted, but Whizz has lost about eight percent of its business since. The National Guard threats, plus the constant ICE raids, have spooked the food delivery workforce.
Peregudov said the workers are afraid, noting that some have returned bikes to the Chicago office. Whizz does not employ these gig economy workers; it only rents out e-bikes to anyone with proper identification, a social security number, and a credit card.
With United States citizens and lawful permanent residents getting caught in similar raids around the country, Peregudov said this fear is shared by both documented and undocumented immigrants. He explained that when a raid happens, a person can be detained for two weeks. Even if they are let go after it is understood they are legally present, they still lose that time.
Immigration raids are happening in most of the other cities where Whizz operates, including New York, San Francisco, and Philadelphia. But those locations have so far been spared the more militaristic deployments, which increase the tension.
The company also operates in Washington, D.C., where President Trump has brought in National Guard troops. Interestingly, Peregudov said business is actually up in the nation’s capital. He attributes that to police and federal agents appearing to target delivery drivers who use gasoline mopeds without a license. This is driving more delivery workers to Whizz and its less-regulated e-bikes.
An immigrant himself, Peregudov shied away from commenting too much on the administration’s policies and actions. He said that he came to the United States using a talent visa, so the process was not that stressful for him and was way easier than it is for the delivery workers.