Chicago’s Mexican Independence Day celebrations proceeded Saturday with heightened security concerns as President Donald Trump’s administration escalates threats to deploy National Guard troops and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to the city.
While the actual Mexican Independence Day falls on September 16, events typically span more than a week in Chicago, drawing hundreds of thousands of participants.
Why It Matters
Chicago’s Mexican American community represents more than one-fifth of the city’s total population and about 74 percent of its Latino residents, according to 2022 U.S. Census estimates.
The threat of federal intervention during Independence Day celebrations—typically a joyful week-long period—has created unprecedented anxiety in neighborhoods like Pilsen and Little Village, where Mexican culture and heritage are deeply embedded in daily life.
Illinois political leaders have rejected Trump’s deployment plans, arguing that many cities have higher overall crime rates and that Chicago’s murder rate has fallen in recent years after a spike during the COVID-19 pandemic.
What To Know
The Pentagon announced this week it authorized the use of Naval Station Great Lakes, just outside Chicago, as a staging ground for Trump administration operations targeting undocumented immigrants, according to defense officials who spoke to the Washington Post.
The base will serve as a hub for Department of Homeland Security (DHS) missions and could accommodate National Guard or active-duty troops if Trump orders a military surge similar to deployments in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
Details about Chicago’s planned operation remain sparse, but the announcement has prompted widespread opposition from state and local leaders, who plan to sue the Trump administration.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order last week directing city agencies and law enforcement to resist cooperation with federal immigration enforcement, citing “escalating threats from the federal government.” The order represents a direct challenge to the administration’s plans for the city.
The Mexican Independence Day celebrations, which officially fall on September 16, have been marked by division among organizers. Some events proceeded with enhanced precautions while others chose postponement. Local businesses in affected neighborhoods report decreased foot traffic and lower sales amid the atmosphere of uncertainty.
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump posted a message on Truth Social along with an AI image of himself recreating an Apocalypse Now movie poster: “I love the smell of deportations in the morning”
Adding: “Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR”
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson responded to Trump on X: “The President’s threats are beneath the honor of our nation, but the reality is that he wants to occupy our city and break our Constitution. We must defend our democracy from this authoritarianism by protecting each other and protecting Chicago from Donald Trump.”
Pastor Corey Brooks, senior pastor of New Beginnings Church of Chicago, wrote in a Fox News opinion article: “I see the deployment of troops onto Chicago’s streets as a necessary shock-and-awe measure. The Chicago Police Department has done a good job in recent months bringing down murders and crime, but they are led by “defund the police” leadership. Imagine how much better the force would be with a law-and-order mayor. Right now, under the current leadership in our city, gangs still control our streets, human trafficking goes unchecked and drugs flow through here like the Mississippi River. We need a reset. We need a reordering of society where our kids come first and the gangsters last.”
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, said during a press conference last week: “This is not about fighting crime. This is about Donald Trump searching for any justification to deploy the military in a blue city in a blue state to try to. This is about the president of the United States and his complicit lackey Stephen Miller searching for ways to lay the groundwork to circumvent our democracy, militarize our cities and end elections. There is no emergency in Chicago that calls for armed military intervention. There is no insurrection.”
What Happens Next?
The broader Mexican Independence Day celebrations will continue through September 16 and beyond, with community organizations monitoring federal activity while encouraging cultural participation.
Reporting from the Associated Press contributed to this article.
The post Chicago Celebrates Mexican Independence Day Events as Trump Threat Looms appeared first on Newsweek.
