In the Lower West Side of Chicago, music blared and green, white and red flags fluttered down the streets of the predominantly Latino Pilsen neighborhood on Saturday as crowds gathered for the start of Mexican Independence Day celebrations.
Costumed performers and children with baskets of treats paraded through the community, drawing cheers from families lining the sidewalks.
But the joy of the annual celebration came with an undercurrent of unease this year. Bright orange whistles swung from the necks of parade-goers and dancers, each one ready to cut through the music should federal immigration agents appear.
The caution reflects fears across the city that Chicago could be the next target of President Donald Trump’s intense immigration crackdown. Independence Day festivities in the Windy City this year were quieter, some even postponed, under the weight of the looming threats.
But in Pilsen, the neighborhood gathered anyway, choosing joy over fear.
“It’s always a good moment to celebrate our culture, our customs,” Araceli Lucio, a parade-goer and longtime resident, told CNN. “I think now more than ever is when we need to demonstrate that we are united and we are a community.”
People watch the Mexican Independence Day parade along 18th Street in the predominately Hispanic Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago on Saturday. – Scott Olson/Getty Images
People prepare to participate in the Mexican Independence Day parade along 18th Street in Pilsen Saturday. – Scott Olson/Getty Images
Celebrations thwarted
The Mexican holiday usually draws hundreds of thousands of attendees to more than a week of celebrations across Chicago that began Saturday. But in response to the anticipated ramp-up of immigration enforcement, streets are quieter as events have been muted.
In Wauconda, a village in northwest Chicago, the annual Latino Heritage Festival was canceled due to “the recent weather situation and immigration concerns in our area,” the Wauconda Police Department said in a Friday social media post.
One of the largest events of the Fiestas Patrias, the parade for the Mexican Independence Day in Waukegan, has been postponed for the first time in its 30-year history to November 1 from September 14. The festival is celebrated every year in the suburb along Lake Michigan just north of the Great Lakes naval base, the facility Gov. JB Pritzker said Trump is set to use as a command center for incoming immigration agents.
“I know that the vendors perhaps are upset, but it is what it is – for the safety of the people,” said Margaret Carrasco, president of Fiestas Patrias of Waukegan.
El Grito Chicago, a two-day festival in downtown’s Grant Park, also decided to postpone citing concerns for the “safety of our community.”
“We’re saddened about the loss of an opportunity to uplift a vision of dignity, strength, and belonging at a time when it’s sorely needed,” event organizers said in a statement.
Pilsen parade-goers acknowledged the fear and hesitation in these pockets of the city’s Latino communities, backing organizers’ decisions to put a hold on their events.
“We’re with them, we support them, we understand what they’re feeling,” Claudia Villagrana, who celebrated Saturday in Pilsen, told CNN.
Illinois Reps. Mike Quigley and JesĂşs “Chuy” GarcĂa were also seen walking in Saturday’s parade in Pilsen, as state officials have been heeding warnings of the impending immigration enforcement in Chicago.
Keilina Zamora prepares to participate in the Mexican Independence Day parade along 18th Street in Pilsen Saturday – Scott Olson/Getty Images
People prepare to participate in the Mexican Independence Day parade in Pilsen after many other communities in the area cancelled their Independence day celebrations because of fears of ICE raids. – Scott Olson/Getty Images
A city bracing for impact
Officials in Chicago have been monitoring days of warnings the city could be the next target of Trump’s expanding enforcement efforts across the country.
The president and his aides have repeatedly slammed Chicago over policies limiting cooperation between local authorities and federal immigration enforcement. Chicago grappled with an influx of migrants during the Biden administration following surges along the US southern border and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s decision to transport migrants to Democratic-led cities.
Chicago was also among the first cities targeted in immigration enforcement operations when Trump took office in January.
Now, the anticipated operations in Chicago are expected to be on a larger scale, using personnel from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and possibly other agencies, CNN previously reported.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an order last weekend aimed at resisting the crackdown, laying out plans for the city amid “escalating threats from the federal government.”
The order “affirms” Chicago police will not “collaborate with federal agents on joint law enforcement patrols, arrest operations, or other law enforcement duties including civil immigration enforcement.”
But residents are still bracing for impact.
Communities are preparing for ICE presence by handing out flyers reminding families they have the right to remain silent, don’t have to consent to be searched and don’t have to share their birthplace or citizenship status, among other rights.
Sylvelia Pittman, a teacher at Nash Elementary on Chicago’s West Side, said she heard children in her classroom talking about potential ICE arrests on Friday.
Before leaving for the weekend, Pittman said, students said goodbye to each other, saying “I hope to see you next week.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled Fiestas Patrias, the Mexican Independence Day celebration.
CNN’s Omar Jimenez, Andy Rose and Taylor Romine contributed to this report.
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