Few fights between state and federal leaders get this raw. Halloween weekend, and already tempers are high. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem flatly rejected Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker’s plea to pause immigration raids around Chicago so families could celebrate Halloween “without fear.”
“We’re absolutely not willing to put on pause any work that we will do to keep communities safe,” Noem said Thursday at a press conference in Gary, Indiana.
She didn’t stop there. “The fact that Gov. Pritzker is asking for that is shameful and… unfortunate that he doesn’t recognize how important the work is that we do to make sure we’re bringing criminals to justice and getting them off our streets,” she said. “Especially when we’re going to send all of our kiddos out on the streets and going to events and enjoying the holiday season.”
Kristi Noem just said ICE will “be out on the streets in full force” on Halloween “to make sure kids are safe.”
That’s not ICE’s job. It’s not community safety, it’s intimidation dressed up as law enforcement. pic.twitter.com/hzWO2a3XoK
— Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) October 30, 2025
Her words hit a nerve. Chicago’s already tense after weeks of immigration raids — part of Operation Midway Blitz, the federal plan to ramp up deportations.
Last weekend, in Old Irving Park, Border Patrol agents clashed with residents during a neighborhood Halloween parade. Locals say tear gas filled the air. “Agents had to deploy crowd control measures,” a DHS spokesperson said afterward.
That scene pushed Pritzker to act. In a letter sent Wednesday to Noem, ICE’s Todd M. Lyons, and CBP Commissioner Rodney S. Scott, he asked them to hold off enforcement “where Halloween celebrations are taking place” from Friday through Sunday. “Illinois families deserve to spend Halloween weekend without fear,” Pritzker wrote. “No child should be forced to inhale tear gas or other chemical agents while trick or treating in their own neighborhood.”
At a press conference, the governor added: “I’m asking for basic human decency. I think their response will be revealing. Give the children and families of Illinois a break.”
Court filings later included stories from Old Irving Park residents — people stepping out of the shower, kids half-dressed in costumes, families caught off guard as chaos broke out.
.@GovPritzker: “I’ve sent a letter to Kristi Noem and to the Department of Homeland Security leadership, asking them to pause all of their federal agent operations for the entirety of the Halloween weekend.” pic.twitter.com/DN82PuBkW0
— CSPAN (@cspan) October 30, 2025
DHS officials weren’t backing down. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin fired back saying, “Once again Governor Pritzker is going out of his way to smear the law enforcement officers of DHS… He is pushing a false narrative that DHS is targeting schools, hospitals, and churches. This is false, he knows this, but he continues to push these lies.”
Pritzker hit back online. He said, “We know Kristi Noem must love Halloween because she always dresses in law enforcement costumes, but what is truly shameful is that she refuses to agree that we shouldn’t tear gas children trick or treating.”
Halloween events will go on across Illinois, but the tension’s thick. Families are hanging fake cobwebs on porches. Federal agents are still running operations nearby.
And somewhere in between candy bags and politics, Chicago’s asking: Can’t we have one night off?
