A Mexican-American flag flies as a parade participant on horseback flies a city of Chicago flag while Chicago's Mexican community proceeds with a Mexican Independence Day parade after U.S. President Donald Trump ordered increased federal law enforcement presence to assist in crime prevention, in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. September 6, 2025. REUTERS/Jim Vondruska

By Renee Hickman and Heather Schlitz

CHICAGO (Reuters) -Several thousand demonstrators marched past Trump Tower as the sun began to set in downtown Chicago on Saturday, protesting U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to flood the city with immigration agents.

The protest came after fears of increasing deportations chilled a normally raucous Mexican Independence Day celebration, as Trump signaled his intention to ramp up immigration enforcement on social media.

In a social media post depicting himself as a U.S. military officer from the movie "Apocalypse Now," Trump wrote, "I love the smell of deportations in the morning," above an image of the president in uniform juxtaposed against flames and Chicago's skyline.

For many protesters, the threats felt personal.

Tracy Quinonez, 50, said her father, who recently died, came to the U.S. from Guatemala as a refugee. "I'm here for him," she said. "It's not criminals being taken off the street. It's families being ripped apart."

Quinonez, who like many other protesters was waving the blue stripes and red stars of Chicago's city flag, told Reuters, "They really picked on the wrong city."

Protesters also opposed Trump's threats to deploy National Guard troops to fight crime in Chicago, which would be an extraordinary effort to militarize the country's third-largest city. On Wednesday, however, Vice President JD Vance said there were "no immediate plans" to send the National Guard to Chicago.

Trump, a Republican, has mobilized troops in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., cities that, like Chicago, are run by Democratic politicians.

Peg Devlin, 76, said on Saturday that she was marching against what she called the rise of fascism, which she said her mother had fled in Europe.

"I've never experienced what my mother experienced as a German Jew," said Devlin, "I will not sit back and watch that happen here."

Lisa Matuska, 39, walked the route with her two young children because, she said, "I think they need to see that if there's something you don't agree with and you're mad about it, physical presence is a good way to show that." She also praised the event's organizers for its safety.

'SCARED BUT HERE'

Elsewhere in the city, the threat of deportations had a chilling effect on a normally festive month in which numerous Mexican Independence Day celebrations are held throughout Chicago.

A parade to mark the holiday in the historically Mexican Pilsen neighborhood turned quiet and nervous.

In a break from traditional celebrations, twirling folklorico dancers decked in glimmering jewelry and billowing, multi-colored dresses distributed "know your rights" pamphlets to sparse crowds.

Horses wore the colors of Mexico's flag in their tails, while their riders wore neon-orange whistles around their necks in case they needed to alert attendees to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Along the sidelines, volunteers also kept watch for ICE.

"This place would normally be packed," Eddie Chavez, a lifelong Pilsen resident, said while waving a Mexican flag in a lone row of lawn chairs along the parade route. "Now it's empty, like a ghost town."

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat and vocal critic of Trump, said on Tuesday he believed ICE raids would coincide with Mexican Independence Day festivals scheduled for this weekend and next weekend. Some Mexican festivals in the Chicago area were postponed or canceled amid fears of immigration raids.

"We're scared, but we're here," said Isabel Garcia, a dancer in Saturday's parade. "We're Mexican. We have to celebrate, and they're not going to stop us."

ICE did not respond to requests for comment on whether it had sent more agents to Chicago, and residents said they had not seen significantly stepped-up immigration enforcement so far.

In addition to Chicago, Trump has suggested the possibility of deploying troops to Democratic-run Baltimore in Maryland, as well as in the Republican-led state of Louisiana.

Trump last month deployed National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., saying they would "re-establish law, order and public safety." Justice Department data shows crime in the nation's capital hit a 30-year low last year.

The president sent 4,000 National Guard members and 700 active-duty U.S. Marines to Los Angeles in June, against the wishes of California's Democratic governor.

(Reporting by Renee Hickman and Heather Schlitz in Chicago; Editing by William Mallard)