Block Club Chicago: Pro-Immigrant, Pro-Palestinian Murals And Southwest Side Restaurant Vandalized
The incidents, which have shaken neighbors in Pilsen and Back of the Yards, could silence and intimidate minority communities, experts said.
by Francia Garcia Hernandez July 17, 2025
A close-up of a Palestinian-Mexican mural at West 16th Street and South Ashland Avenue shows the face of the Palestinian man, which was defaced last month, as seen on July 10, 2025. Credit: Francia Garcia Hernandez/Block Club Chicago
PILSEN — Two Pilsen murals depicting Mexican-Palestinian solidarity and resistance to anti-immigration policies were defaced within days of being completed in recent months — and one of the vandals attacked two people who confronted her, the victims said.
And last week in Back of the Yards, a Venezuelan restaurant was defaced with an anti-Venezuelan message, as seen in a TikTok video that had over 264,000 views as of Wednesday. The restaurant’s owner called on people to stop being xenophobic toward immigrants, saying they are working hard to make their way in a new country.
Though separate, the vandalism and attacks took place amid a rise in anti-Palestinian and anti-immigrant rhetoric, neighbors, organizers and experts said.
The incidents, which have left neighbors shaken, are a response to President Donald Trump and his administration’s anti-immigrant rhetoric and could aim to silence and intimidate minority communities, said Joseph F. Mello, associate professor of political science and pre-law advisor at DePaul University.
“It gives a permission structure to everybody to use this kind of rhetoric and normalizes it,” Mello said.
Toxic messages easily spread on social media, with hateful rhetoric spilling into neighbors’ lives and communities, Mello said.
Acts of vandalism and hate speech have a chilling effect on those who are being attacked, particularly among immigrant and minority communities, as they often have a threat of violence attached to them, Mello said.
“It makes people afraid to speak up and afraid to put up murals,” he said. “It’s designed to take away their speech.”
A mural depicts Superman punching an ICE agent in the 1800 block of South Western Avenue in Pilsen on July 3, 2025. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago
A mural depicting Superman punching an ICE agent in the 1800 block of South Western Avenue in Pilsen was covered with black paint, as seen on July 10, 2025. Credit: Francia Garcia Hernandez/Block Club Chicago
‘An Act Of Hate’
Murals in Pilsen have long blended art and activism, according to WTTW.
A mural protesting Trump’s immigration crackdown — featuring Superman punching an agent wearing an ICE hat and vest — was completed at the end of June in the 1800 block of South Western Avenue. Just a few days later, someone covered part of the mural with black paint.
The mural appears to have been painted by Chicago artist Viril the Mouse, who did not respond to a request for comment.
And another mural has been defaced twice, with one of the vandals attacking someone who tried to stop her in mid-June, the victim said. That mural, which is near West 16th Street and South Ashland Avenue, depicts Palestinian and Mexican men resting in a peace garden. It was painted by Palestinian artist Taqi Spateen.
In May, a person who identified as L.J. found a woman dumping trash in front of the mural, confronted her and filmed the incident, L.J. said during a press conference last month. The woman knocked L.J. to the ground and choked them with a keffiyeh scarf L.J. wore, they said.
Then, on June 14, Natalie Figueroa, who works in Pilsen, was physically assaulted as she attempted to confront the same woman when Figueroa found her defacing the mural, Figueroa’s supporters have said.
The woman — who wore an EMT uniform — painted a message about Israel over the mural, appeared to burn the Palestinian man’s face and threw what appeared to be feces at the wall, said Delilah Martinez, founder of The Mural Movement. The group is behind the mural’s creation.
Figueroa confronted the woman, who grabbed a metal hole puncher and struck Figueroa’s face and head, the Sun-Times reported. The woman knocked down Figueroa and straddled her chest.
A passerby called police, but officers did not detain the woman and let her go despite Figueroa’s request for help and video showing the woman’s actions, NBC5 reported.
A Palestinian-Mexican mural at West 16th Street and South Ashland Avenue, as seen on July 10, 2025. Credit: Francia Garcia Hernandez/Block Club Chicago
An investigation is ongoing, and no one was in custody as of Friday, police said. The incident has been classified as criminal damage and criminal defacement, police said. They did not provide further details about what happened.
L.J. and Figueroa have called for the woman to be charged with a hate crime and aggravated battery, and they want authorities to expedite an order for her arrest, said Farah Chalisa, a human rights attorney representing the two victims.
A month after Figueroa’s attack, an arrest warrant has not been issued, leaving victims frustrated and concerned for their safety, Chalisa said.
“We’re concerned about how long it’s taking,” Chalisa said, noting police started an investigation and the victims were interviewed by the State’s Attorney’s Office last month.
There is a concern the woman may flee the United States based on comments made on her social media, which would leave the victims’ call for justice unanswered, Chalisa said.
The State’s Attorney’s Office did not respond to Block Club’s request for comment.
The woman has harassed and attacked other neighbors in Pilsen, organizers said last month.
Using several social media accounts, the woman has posted videos of the attacks and commented on the victims’ and lawyer’s social media accounts in what appear to be “intimidation tactics,” Chalisa said.
“It’s further reason why police need to take a serious stance,” she said.
The woman also showed up at a community meeting in an attempt to intimidate the 25th Ward’s chief of staff, Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) told reporters last month.
A Palestinian-Mexican mural at West 16th Street and South Ashland Avenue, as seen on July 10, 2025. Credit: Francia Garcia Hernandez/Block Club Chicago
The attacks terrified the victims, Chalisa said.
Murals denouncing the Israel-Gaza war and expressing support for Palestinians have specifically been targeted and vandalized, unlike other longstanding murals along West 16th Street, said Lucia Moya Calderon, chief of staff for the 25th Ward office.
The delay in holding the woman responsible adds to people’s concerns that police are not protecting minority communities, Chalisa said.
“If this is the process every time somebody faces a hate crime, I can understand why so many of them end up going unreported,” she said.
Organizers with the Chicago Council on American-Islamic Relations have also called for the attacker to be charged with hate crimes amid a rise in anti-Palestinian and anti-Islamic sentiment nationally and in Chicago.
The nonprofit has received more reports of anti-Islamic and anti-immigrant acts, Legal Director Heena Musabji said at last month’s press conference. In this climate, police must “take full action to make sure that hate-based violent actions are taken seriously and charged as crimes,” Musabji said.
‘I’m Here To Contribute’
A few miles south of Pilsen, the owners of Venezuelan restaurant Entre Panas, 3448 W. 47th St., found the restaurant’s windows and a truck had been defaced with an anti-immigrant message last week.
Owner Michelle Padilla said surveillance footage from July 7 shows a person wearing a mask walking on 47th Street in the direction of the restaurant.
The person stopped at the restaurant and painted over one of its surveillance cameras. The person then proceeded to tag the front windows with an anti-Venezuelan message, video from the other surveillance camera shows, Padilla said. Later, the masked person walked to the back of the business, where the person tagged a parked food truck.
“It was shocking,” Padilla, who is Venezuelan, said in Spanish. “But I’m not going to let one person’s message stop me. I came to this country to work.”
Co-owner Michelle Padilla, poses outside the Venezuelan restaurant Entre Panas, 3448 W. 47th St., as seen on July 10, 2025 Credit: Francia Garcia Hernandez/Block Club Chicago
The next morning, police arrived at the restaurant to file a report and city workers quickly removed the messages, Padilla said. An investigation is ongoing, and the incident has been classified as criminal defacement, police said.
Padilla put out a TikTok video about the vandalism, and it went viral. Some commenters expressed support for the business and condemned anti-immigrant rhetoric, and others bashed the restaurant, she said.
The incident left Padilla shaken and wondering whether the restaurant should close or adjust its hours, she said. She hopes police will identify the vandal so the staff feels safe while working, she said.
“We’ve never had any problems with anyone. We don’t know who it was or if it is someone who has visited the restaurant before,” she said.
Meanwhile, Padilla and her partner, Carlos Jarome, decided they would not be intimidated.
“I’m here to contribute. I came to this country to work, and I’m not taking anyone’s job. I’m creating jobs and opportunity,” she said.
Entre Panas opened in April in a closed Mexican restaurant that sold tacos de canasta, a Mexican dish. When Padilla and Jarome took over, they employed two people who used to work at the Mexican restaurant and decided to continue selling tacos de canasta.
Adorned with Venezuelan motifs designed by Padilla, who was a graphic designer in her native country, the restaurant also offers Venezuelan dishes like arepas, empanadas, tequeños and cachapas.
“I’m a proud Venezuelan,” Padilla said. “I’m proud of my roots and the values my parents taught me, including respect.”