Donald Trump’s plan to deploy national guard troops and federal immigration agents to Chicago is already having an impact on the city’s Mexican community.
Organizers have canceled several local events tied to Mexican Independence Day, which occurs on 16 September.
People of Mexican descent constitute about 21% of the city’s population, according to census data, and hold annual events around the holiday that attract thousands of people.
But Trump recently inaccurately described Chicago as “the most dangerous city in the world” and said: “We’re going in.”
The administration plans to send 230 agents, most of whom work for Customs and Border Protection, to Chicago from Los Angeles as part of an increased effort to make immigration arrests, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
At least three events connected to the holiday have been canceled or postponed. Organizers decided to cancel El Grito Chicago, an event that drew 24,000 people last year, and was scheduled for 13-14 September.
“It was a painful decision, but holding El Grito Chicago at this time puts the safety of our community at stake – and that’s a risk we are unwilling to take,” the event’s website stated. “While we’re torn by this decision, when we brought this celebration back, our aim was to create a safe, affordable, family-friendly, community festival for all.”
Even so, a few thousand Chicagoans filed into the downtown area on Saturday evening to protest Trump’s plans to mobilize the National Guard and increase activity by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Demonstrators gathered near Grant Park on Saturday to protest against Donald Trump’s immigration policies. Photograph: Scott Olson/Getty Images
The protests were peaceful and focused on immigration but also the administration’s attacks on democracy as well as its funding of mass starvation and bombing of Palestinians in Gaza.
Crowds chanted “ICE escucha estamos en la lucha,”, “Viva Palestina” and “Donald Trump you stupid clown, you aren’t welcome in our town”.
Protesters marched through downtown streets, stopping momentarily at Trump Tower to flip the building off and chant “Fuck Trump”.
The fear of deportation is real for migrant communities, according to Danae Kovac, the executive director of Hana Center, an immigration rights group for Koreans in the city.
“We’ve seen an uptick in fear. We have a lot of community members that didn’t feel safe to come out to the rally today,” Kovac said.
Protesters march through downtown Chicago on Saturday. Photograph: Scott Olson/Getty Images
The anxiety in the country’s third-largest city comes after Trump deployed national guard troops to Los Angeles and Washington DC.
Contrary to the president’s assertions, Chicago is not among the country’s most dangerous cities, and the number of homicides decreased from last year to this year, the Guardian reported.
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Illinois had about 550,000 unauthorized immigrants in 2023, according to the Pew Research Center. The governor,JB Pritzker, said that he was concerned about Ice agents targeting attendees at the Mexican Independence Day events.
“We have reason to believe that Stephen Miller [the White House deputy chief of staff] chose the month of September to come to Chicago because of celebrations around Mexican Independence Day that happen here every year,” Pritzker said at a news conference.
In addition to El Grito, the Mexican Independence Day parade and festival in the suburb of Waukegan was postponed until November, and the Latin Heritage Fest in Wauconda was canceled, a local Fox affiliate reported.
“It feels like a slap in the face,” Galiela Mendez, 25, told the Associated Press of the El Grito cancellation. “I think we are all on edge because it’s the same people that describe our home this way, but they never come here and see it for themselves.”
Despite the uncertainty, on Saturday morning, people attended a parade celebrating the holiday in one of the city’s primarily Mexican neighborhoods.
“My heart is like pounding a little bit because I don’t know what to expect today,” Magdalena Alvarado, a longtime Chicago resident, told the Associated Press.
Meanwhile, Trump posted on Truth Social that Chicago was about to find out “why it’s called the Department of War”.
Trump signed an executive order Friday authorizing that title for the Department of Defense.
The post, in reference to the film Apocalypse Now, also stated: “I love the smell of deportations in the morning.”
Pritzker responded on X, “The President of the United States is threatening to go to war with an American city. This is not a joke. This is not normal.”