Chicago's Mexican Independence Day celebrations shadowed by Trump’s threats for the city

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CHICAGO (AP) — President Donald Trump's plan to dispatch National Guard troops and immigration agents into Chicago has put many Latino residents on edge, prompting some to carry their U.S. passports while giving others pause about openly celebrating the upcoming Mexican Independence Day.

Though the holiday falls on Sept. 16, celebrations in Chicago span more than a week and draw hundreds of thousands of participants. Festivities will kick off with a Saturday parade through the heavily Mexican Pilsen neighborhood and continue with car caravans and lively street parties.

But this year the typically joyful period coincides with Trump's threats to add Chicago to the list of other Democratic-led cities he has targeted for expanded federal enforcement. His administration has said it will step up immigration enforcement in Chicago, as it did in Los Angeles, and would deploy National Guard troops. In addition to sending troops to Los Angeles in June, Trump deployed them last month in Washington, D.C., as part of his unprecedented law enforcement takeover of the nation’s capital.

Although details about the promised Chicago operation have been sparse, there's already widespread opposition extending into the suburbs. State and city leaders have said they plan to sue the Trump administration.

The extended Mexican Independence Day celebrations reflect the size and vitality of Chicago’s Mexican American community. Mexicans make up more than one-fifth of the city’s total population and about 74% of its Latino residents, according to 2022 U.S. Census estimates.

Parade and festival organizers have been divided over whether to move forward with precautions or postpone, in hopes that it will feel safer for many participants to have a true celebration in several months' time. In Pilsen, organizers said this week that community safety should be prioritized. A downtown Mexican Independence Day festival set for next weekend, though, was postponed this week by organizers, who said the decision was made to protect people.

“But also we just refuse to let our festival be a pawn in this political game,” said Germán González, an organizer of El Grito Chicago.

In Pilsen and Little Village, two of the city's best-known neighborhoods with restaurants, businesses and cultural ties to Mexican culture, residents expressed disappointment that the potential federal intervention instilled such fear and anxiety in the community. It comes at a time of year usually characterized by joy, togetherness and celebration of Mexican American heritage.

On Saturday morning, some parade-goers grabbed free, bright-orange whistles and flyers from volunteers standing outside the Lozano Branch of the Chicago Public Library. “Blow the whistle on ICE!” the flyers read, encouraging a nonviolent tactic to raise alarm if agents appear at the event.

“Trump 2.0 is definitely more undisguised and more vicious than Trump 1.0,” said Leo Pargo of communist organization Revcom Corps.

Magdalena Alvarado, who lived in Little Village for 30 years, took an orange whistle. “My heart is like pounding a little bit because I don’t know what to expect today,” she said.

Alvarado saw some lowrider cars, often decked out with Mexican flags, with imagery supporting the police. She wondered to herself whether they were intentionally added to garner goodwill with the law enforcement present.

“We tend to be very patriotic and proud of our culture, and this year I feel that we’re not as free to express it,” Alvarado said.

For Galiela Mendez, the decision to postpone El Grito Chicago was both heartbreaking and understandable.

While the nation's third-largest city has its problems, including persistent gun violence in some areas, Mendez said Trump and his supporters are maligning Chicago for political gain while disrupting festivities.

“It feels like a slap in the face,” the 25-year-old said. “I think we are all on edge because it’s the same people that describes our home this way, but they never come here and see it for themselves.”

Vianney Alarcon, 42, said she expects people to be targeted by immigration officials regardless of their legal status.

“They're just going to catch and ask questions later,” she said.

But in an act of defiance, she'll be taking part in the festivities, while bringing along her passport.

“I’m still going to celebrate my heritage,” she said. “And I know for a fact that a lot of the people I know and the people commenting on Facebook are going to show up, too. What are they going to do? We’re not being disruptive if we’re celebrating properly.”

Fabio Fernandez, 39, owner of an art and T-shirt company with a residency at a Pilsen streetwear shop, called it “troubling” and “disheartening” that potential federal intervention was impacting Mexican Independence Day celebrations.

He said there's a mood of anxiety in the neighborhood, which has translated to lower sales and reduced foot traffic for local businesses like his, Fernandez said.

“The small businesses here can feel it, and other business owners will say the same thing,” he said.

Fernandez said there are simple ways to support local Latino-owned shops and restaurants.

“Come back to 18th Street. Support small businesses here. They’re still working hard as hell to keep their businesses alive,” he said.

Alejandro Vences, 30, became a U.S. citizen this year, “which gives me some comfort during this time,” he said while eating pozole verde at a local Mexican restaurant.

Still, he said the anxiety is palpable.

“For us, our Independence Day has always been a celebration of our culture," he said. “It’s always been a celebration of who we are. It feels like we don’t get to celebrate our culture in the same way.”

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Finley reported from Norfolk, Virginia. Associated Press writer Morgan Lee in Santa Fe contributed.