{"id":1046937,"date":"2026-09-06T13:09:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T13:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1046937\/"},"modified":"2026-09-06T13:09:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T13:09:12","slug":"pilsen-celebrates-25th-annual-mexican-independence-day-parade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1046937\/","title":{"rendered":"Pilsen celebrates 25th annual Mexican Independence Day Parade"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mario Perez cheered from the curb as dancers in bright dresses twirled down the street Saturday afternoon, ribbons and ruffles flashing in the sun. Amid the spectacle, he almost didn\u2019t see the face peering down from an apartment window above.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re still afraid to celebrate,\u201d said Perez, 54. \u201cPeople want to come out, but they\u2019re fearful they\u2019re going to get arrested.<\/p>\n

Perez was one of many immigrants who flocked to Pilsen for the neighborhood\u2019s 25th annual Mexican Independence Day Parade, a tradition that fills 18th Street with vintage cars, folk dancers and lively musicians on their way to Harrison Park. The festivities have become a staple<\/a> for the historic Latino neighborhood, a community where Mexican American culture<\/a> is evident in restaurants, shops and murals that line the route.<\/p>\n

But locals said they couldn\u2019t help but notice the noticeably thinner crowd, echoing last year\u2019s parade,<\/a> which came as the Department of Homeland Security launched Operation Midway Blitz,\u00a0 a 64-day immigration enforcement surge across Chicago and suburbs. From a bench outside an ornate antique shop, Edwin Barrera said the mood on Saturday felt eerily similar to it did when the Trump administration was threatening<\/a> to send federal agents into Chicago.<\/p>\n

\u201cUsually, there would already be chairs out and people sitting around,\u201d said Barrera, 50, who has lived in Pilsen for two decades. \u201cBut I guess it\u2019s not surprising that a lot of people are not here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though El Grito, a downtown Mexican Independence Day festival, was postponed last year amid threats of increased immigration enforcement, organizers of the 2025 Pilsen parade chose to move forward as planned. Afterward, Vicky Lugo, secretary of the United Merchants of Pilsen Chamber of Commerce, told the Tribune there had been no incidents or reports of federal immigration agents at the event.<\/p>\n

But that wasn\u2019t how some locals remembered the day. One of them, Ramon Lopez, 61, watched a group of dancers from the doorway of his apartment Saturday afternoon. A lifelong Pilsen resident, Lopez has attended the celebration since its earliest years.<\/p>\n

He pointed to an intersection just feet from his front stoop, where he said immigration agents wearing full body armor and carrying large guns stationed themselves during last year\u2019s parade. This year, he said, they were nowhere to be seen.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more comfortable now,\u201d said Lopez. \u201cYou see police officers, but you don\u2019t see ICE.\u201d<\/p>\n

But some of his neighbors told him they planned to stay home Saturday, fearful that federal agents might be mingling undercover among the crowd. Though the surge from the blitz ended, immigration enforcement arrests have continued over the past year.<\/p>\n

Esmeralda Velasco said some residents remain afraid even to drop off their children at school.<\/p>\n

Velasco said her social media feeds have been filled with community sightings of ICE activity across Chicago, especially on the Northwest and Southwest sides. Videos of federal agents detaining people during traffic stops and outside courthouses have circulated since June, the Tribune reported, alarming immigrant communities and prompting concern from elected officials.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re still standing up for them,\u201d Velasco, 42, said of neighbors who were afraid to attend the parade. \u201cWe\u2019re their voice, even though they\u2019re not able to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those lingering fears, Velasco said, made it all the more important for her to show up and celebrate her culture. Mexican Independence Day is observed each year on Sept. 16. She hoped Mexican American Chicagoans who stayed home would see photos and videos of the parade on social media and know their community is still proud.<\/p>\n

She and her friends laughed and pointed as a toddler trotted past on a miniature horse barely taller than its young rider. Three hairless Xoloitzcuintles, a breed considered to be Mexico\u2019s national dog, followed close behind.<\/p>\n