CHICAGO (WLS) — Activists and community leaders expected to speak Thursday on the expanded immigration enforcement in the Chicago area.

The crackdowns have left Latino community on edge. Some immigrant and Latino groups have decided to fight back by arming communities with information about federal immigration enforcement activities to help them stay safe.

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This comes as organizers of Sunday’s Little Village Mexican Independence Day Parade are telling people it’s OK to stay home.

The Trump Administration’s Operation Midway Blitz began just a few days ago and the Department of Homeland Security said several people have already been arrested by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement in Chicago.

With the threat of large-scale raids looming, the Illinois Legislative Latino Caucus along with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and others have decided to start having weekly briefings providing updates and coordinated response efforts to ongoing immigration enforcement activities as ICE operations are expected to ramp up.

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In Bensenville Wednesday, Attorney General Pam Bondi said, “We have a government here who doesn’t want to cooperate with President Trump. He wants to help this city and clean up Chicago and its suburbs.”

Meanwhile at McCormick Place Wednesday, Gov. JB Pritzker said he expects immigration enforcement operations will ramp up at some point.

“They clearly have not gone out in full force yet here with seemingly the number of people from ICE they intended to have on the ground, but I anticipate that we will,” Pritzker said.

Meanwhile, as Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood gets ready for Sunday’s Mexican Independence Day Parade, there is fear ICE agents could target parade goers.

Organizers are planning on handing out know-your-rights cards in Spanish and English for those who do show up. And say safety is a top priority.

“If by them staying home it means that they are safe, we are more than happy for that. Our parade is televised. So people can tune in and watch from home. They can stream online and I think that’s what we’re recommending,” said Jennifer Aguilar, with the Little Village Chamber of Commerce.

Parade organizers admit there’s very little they can do to stop any ICE operations from happening, but they have partnered with several community groups to stage lookouts to alert people about any activity in the neighborhood.

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