Chicago: Plans by US President Donald Trump to send National Guard troops and federal immigration agents to Chicago are already reshaping the city’s Mexican community, prompting event cancellations, street protests, and heightened anxiety ahead of Mexican Independence Day celebrations.
Organizers have canceled or postponed at least three major events tied to the September 16 holiday, including El Grito Chicago, which drew 24,000 attendees last year. The festival had been scheduled for September 13–14.
“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,” organizers said on the event’s website.
The Mexican Independence Day parade in Waukegan was postponed until November, while the Latin Heritage Fest in Wauconda was canceled, according to local reports.
I am sounding the alarm on the real crisis we face today.
Donald Trump’s overreach is what our founders warned against – it is unprecedented, unwarranted, and un-American.
There’s no emergency here that calls for military intervention. pic.twitter.com/qokhDNGMKX
— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) August 25, 2025
Mexican Americans make up about 21 percent of Chicago’s population, according to census data. Annual Independence Day events typically attract tens of thousands of residents and visitors.
Trump has inaccurately described Chicago as the most dangerous city in the world and vowed, “We’re going in.” His administration intends to send 230 federal agents, mostly from Customs and Border Protection, from Los Angeles to Chicago as part of an intensified immigration crackdown.
On Friday, Trump signed an executive order renaming the Department of Defense as the “Department of War,” writing on Truth Social: “I love the smell of deportations in the morning.” The post referenced the film Apocalypse Now.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker condemned the president’s statements, warning that immigration agents may target Mexican Independence Day celebrations. “We have reason to believe that Stephen Miller chose the month of September to come to Chicago because of these celebrations,” Pritzker told reporters.
Despite cancellations, several thousand people marched peacefully through downtown Chicago on Saturday evening to oppose the planned deployment.
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.
Donald Trump isn’t a strongman, he’s a scared man. Illinois won’t be intimidated by a wannabe dictator. pic.twitter.com/f87Zek7Cqb
— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) September 6, 2025
Protesters denounced immigration enforcement and wider administration policies, chanting slogans such as “ICE escucha, estamos en la lucha” and “Viva Palestina.”
In the city’s Mexican neighborhoods, smaller parades and gatherings continued, though many participants expressed unease.
The tension in Chicago follows earlier deployments of National Guard units to Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Contrary to Trump’s description, Chicago is not among the country’s most dangerous cities, and homicides have fallen this year, according to official data.
Illinois is home to about 550,000 undocumented immigrants, according to the Pew Research Center. Advocates warn that the combination of inflammatory rhetoric and expanded enforcement is leaving many families fearful.
