One Mexican Independence Day parade in the Chicago area is postponed. Another doubled its volunteer staff to ensure celebrators’ safety. A third parade’s organizers are watching closely, poised to pivot if the political climate worsens.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he plans to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago, casting a shadow over the region’s upcoming Mexican Independence Day festivities. The Sept. 16 holiday is usually a time of joy in the Chicago area, where more than 20% of the city’s population is Mexican. Now, community leaders are trying to balance residents’ safety and their cultural celebration.
Margaret Carrasco, president of Fiestas Patrias, a committee that for three decades has organized a Mexican Independence Day parade in Waukegan, said the group felt compelled to postpone its event. About 50,000 people attend the parade every year, Carrasco estimates, and 200 floats and 100 horses were lined up for their Sept. 14 celebration.
“We did not want to have troops, agents come in, do a raid and now thousands of families are broken,” she said. “It’s just overwhelming. There’s no way we can counter that. We didn’t want to subject our residents to that, either.”
The threats feel especially close, as the Trump administration plans to use Naval Station Great Lakes — a few miles from their city — as a launchpad for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and other law enforcement. The risks, Carrasco said, were too great.
Organizers for Chicago’s 26th Street Mexican Independence Day Parade — which has taken place for more than 50 years — are weighing what’s next. The event, scheduled for Sept. 14, draws hundreds of thousands of participants, residents and visitors every year, with mariachi bands and folkloric dance gracing the two-and-a-half mile stretch through Little Village, a predominantly Mexican American neighborhood.
“With information currently in flux, we are actively working with our elected officials and community partners to determine the best next steps that will ensure our community’s safety while honoring our cherished traditions,” said Jennifer Aguilar, executive director of the Little Village Chamber of Commerce, which hosts the parade.
The Pentagon has spent weeks preparing a military deployment to Chicago, The Washington Post reported last month, as Trump vows to crack down on crime, homelessness and undocumented immigration. The administration has not said how many troops would be deployed to Chicago, what states they would come from or when they would be sent.
Violent crime rates in Chicago dropped by 40% in the past decade, according to a Post analysis of FBI data. Since 2015, the rate fell from about 904 violent crimes per 100,000 people to about 540 violent crimes per 100,000 people in 2024.
There were 278 homicides in the first eight months of the year, according to data from the city of Chicago. That’s the second lowest total for that period in the past 35 years.
The possible National Guard activation would be the third after Los Angeles and D.C. and would signal an escalation in the administration’s confrontation with Democratic-led cities and states. Leaders in all three cities have criticized the move as unconstitutional.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson last week ordered police not to cooperate with “any unlawful or unconstitutional actions” from troops or federal agents. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat and potential 2028 presidential candidate, has told the administration “do not come.”
Pritzker said at a news conference Tuesday that he believes National Guard members and federal immigration agents are already being staged outside the city, citing “patriotic officials” working in the administration and “well-sourced” reporters.
The looming possibility caused El Grito Chicago, a two-day festival in Grant Park celebrating Mexican independence, to postpone. “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,” festival organizers said in a statement. The festival was planned for Sept. 13 and 14, featuring a packed lineup of bands and musicians.
Rigoberto Gonzalez, executive director of the United Merchants of Pilsen Chamber of Commerce, which has planned a Mexican Independence Day parade in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood for 24 years, said his group’s event will proceed. It’s scheduled to start Saturday at noon. There’ll be horses, low-riders and marching bands, he said. It’s a momentous event for a neighborhood that has sustained generations of immigrants from various countries — most recently, an influx of Mexican Americans.
“We have no intention of not celebrating,” Gonzalez said, adding: “We’re not looking for any confrontation or conflict. We’re just looking forward to celebrating Mexican independence.”
But his group doubled the number of volunteers who will monitor the parade route and are instructed to report sightings of any federal agents or troops. Roughly 10,000 people attend the parade every year, Gonzalez said — though he acknowledged crowds may be smaller this year.
Still, he hopes to proceed with “business as usual.”
“For a day, we get to dress Pilsen up a bit,” Gonzalez said. “It’s wonderful.”
Gerald Steele is the founder of Stonegate Health Rehab. He shares expert insights, recovery tips, and rehab resources to support individuals on their journey to wellness.