Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday swiftly denied Gov. JB Pritzker’s request to halt immigration enforcement operations throughout Chicago for three days so children could safely celebrate Halloween.
“We’re absolutely not willing to put on pause any work that we will do to keep communities safe,” Noem said at a Gary, Ind. press conference. “The fact that Governor Pritzker is asking for that is shameful, and I think unfortunate that he doesn’t recognize how important the work is that we do to make sure that we are bringing criminals to justice and bringing them off our streets.”
Pritzker’s request, first obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times, came four days after ICE agents fired tear gas in the Old Irving Park neighborhood as families and children walked to a Halloween parade. And it happened a day after US District Judge Sara Ellis told US Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino that a “sense of safety was shattered” for children who witnessed the deployment.
“Illinois families deserve to spend Halloween weekend without fear,” Pritzker wrote in the letter sent Wednesday. “No child should be forced to inhale tear gas or other chemical agents while trick or treating in their own neighborhood.”
Pritzker said he was “respectfully requesting” the pause from Friday to Sunday in and around homes, schools, hospitals, parks, houses of worship and other community gatherings where Halloween celebrations are taking place.
“My request is based on a desire to protect communities throughout Chicago and also upon the long-standing guidance from the US Department of Homeland Security regarding enforcement actions at sensitive locations, which was unfortunately rescinded under this administration,” the governor wrote. “That guidance should be reinstated to help protect children and others from enforcement action while accessing basic needs like education and healthcare.”
The Democratic governor wrote that if the deployment of tear gas Saturday on the Northwest Side “happened as reported,” without warning, “it would have been in direct violation of statements and directives from your administration.”
DHS said in a statement that multiple warnings were issued before the tear gas was released, but a witness told the Chicago Sun-Times he heard none.
The letter was sent to Noem, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Todd M. Lyons, and US Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney S. Scott.
The governor on Thursday responded to Noem’s criticism of his request with a jab of his own.
“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,” Pritzker wrote on social media.
Old Irving is the latest Chicago neighborhood where federal agents deployed chemical munitions. Neighborhoods including Lake View, Little Village, East Side, Albany Park, Brighton Park and Logan Square have been the scene of recent federal activity after other neighborhoods were already targeted as part of “Operation Midway Blitz.”
Ellis on Tuesday detailed the Halloween parade incident with Bovino on the witness stand.
“Those kids were tear-gassed on their way to celebrate Halloween, in their local school parking lot,” Ellis told Bovino, who offered no reaction.
“And I can only imagine how terrified they were,” Ellis said.
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