Politics

Chicagoans Come Together to Help Kids Feel Safe Celebrating Halloween Amid Immigration Raids

When Belmont Cragin United hosted its annual trunk-or-treat last Friday in the parking lot of Kelvyn Park Junior and Senior High School, volunteers with whistles stood at the perimeter, ready to seal the entrance and bring families into the school gym if federal agents showed up.

“We had a backup plan for a backup plan if something were to have happened,” said Alonso Zaragoza, who leads the community resource social media pages Belmont Cragin United. “There’s really no guarantee. We could have signs up, we could make it a private event, but that doesn’t stop a bad agent from coming in and causing harm.”

Community groups and neighbors are coming together to help children and families feel safe during Halloween celebrations. Some families are choosing to opt out of trick-or-treating this Friday altogether amid fears of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol activity. Those fears were heightened last weekend when federal agents deployed tear gas and took people into custody in Old Irving Park as families walked to a Halloween parade.

Gov. JB Pritzker asked Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other top federal immigration officials in a letter Wednesday to pause immigration enforcement operations so children can safely celebrate Halloween. 

“No child should be forced to inhale tear gas or other chemical agents while trick or treating in their own neighborhood,” Pritzker wrote in the letter. He later added, “Even in these difficult times, they should be able to trust that they are safe – if only for one weekend.”

Pritzker, specifically, asked federal immigration enforcement operations be suspended from Friday to Sunday in and around homes, schools, hospitals, parks, houses of worship and other community gathering spaces where Halloween celebrations are taking place. 

Noem rejected Pritzker’s request when asked about it during a Thursday news conference in Gary, Indiana.

“We’re absolutely not willing to put on pause any work that we will do to keep communities safe,” Noem said. “The fact that Gov. Pritzker is asking for that is shameful.”

Belmont Cragin United’s 7th annual trunk-or-treat at Kelvyn Park Junior and Senior High School on Oct. 24, 2025. (Courtesy of Alonso Zaragoza / Belmont Cragin United)

Because of families’ concerns about ICE activity, Zaragoza said he wanted to make sure Belmont Cragin United’s trunk-or-treat event was held further out from actual Halloween. 

“We don’t know what the federal government’s gonna do in terms of Oct. 31,” said Zaragoza, who anticipates fewer children trick-or-treating in his neighborhood this year. “There’s a lot of vulnerable people … and we just didn’t want to take a chance.”

Still, Zaragoza noticed fewer attendees at this year’s trunk-or-treat event compared to previous years. This year’s event saw about 4,000 attendees, he said, when it typically sees about 7,000 attendees. 

Leftover bags of candy from the event were donated across eight schools in the area, Zaragoza said.

Ald. Ruth Cruz (30th Ward), who represents parts of the city’s Northwest Side, is holding a candy donation drive to pass out goodie bags to children upon dismissal at elementary schools in the area Thursday and Friday.

Candy donations even came from residents in other wards and people from the suburbs, Cruz said. Earlier this week, volunteers gathered at El Capitan Cafe and Snacks in Belmont Cragin to assemble candy bags from the candy received through the donation drive. More than 10,000 candy bags were assembled, with even more candy still needing to be bagged, according to Cruz. 

El Capitan Cafe and Snacks owner Mayola Rosales Guzman said it made her happy to see the community come together during the candy bag assembly event. 

“Everybody wants to help each other, especially for the kids,” said Guzman, whose business is among those in the predominantly Latino community of Belmont Cragin that has been financially hit since ICE’s ramped-up immigration enforcement campaign, known as “Operation Midway Blitz,” began in the city.

Volunteers gathered at El Capitan Cafe and Snacks in Belmont Cragin on Oct. 28, 2025, to assemble candy bags from candy received through a candy donation drive. (Courtesy of Ald. Ruth Cruz / 30th Ward)

Cruz said the 30th Ward is working with the Old Irving Park Association to gather volunteers to walk around the area on Halloween; it’s known to be a popular destination for trick-or-treating. 

“We want to make sure that our children are safe,” Cruz said. “We do not want another incident where our children are walking to a parade and have to deal with tear gas.”

The Little Village Community Council will also have volunteers on patrol to help keep children safe while they celebrate Halloween. About 200 people have signed up to volunteer as of Thursday morning. Many volunteers are coming from other neighborhoods, including Beverly, Uptown, Lincoln Park and from the suburbs, according to Little Village Community Council President Baltazar Enriquez.

“We’re encouraging them to come in costumes, we’re encouraging them to have fun, but at the same time, be vigilant, be on the alert, and if we do have any agents come, we are prepared,” Enriquez said.

Despite efforts to help families feel safe, Enriquez said there are still some parents of children, including U.S. citizens, who are choosing to not participate in trick-or-treating this year. Enriquez hopes efforts to have volunteers on watch in the neighborhood on Halloween will allow children to have fun and not lose the Halloween spirit.

“Children have been so traumatized with this administration,” Enriquez said. “We don’t want to normalize it. We don’t want our kids to add another layer of trauma.”

Contact Eunice Alpasan: [email protected]

---