Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker asked Department of Homeland Security leadership Tuesday to pause immigration operations in the Chicago area over the Halloween weekend, according to a letter obtained by NBC Chicago.
The governor’s request comes amid a controversial ramp-up of federal immigration operations in the Chicago area called “Operation Midway Blitz.”
The letter — sent to U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Todd M. Lyons, and Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Rodney S. Scott — asks that enforcement of immigration operations be suspended from Friday, Oct. 31 to Sunday, Nov. 2 “in and around homes, schools, hospitals, parks, houses of worship, and other community gatherings where Halloween celebrations are taking place.”
“Illinois families deserve to spend Halloween weekend without fear,” the governor wrote in the letter. “No child should be forced to inhale tear gas or other chemical agents while trick or treating in their own neighborhood.”
Pritzker referenced recent enforcement operations in which federal agents deployed tear gas, including during a children’s Halloween parade in Chicago’s Irving Park neighborhood over the weekend.
Pritzker noted in the letter that the deployment of tear gas without warning at the Irving Park Halloween parade would be “would have been in direct violation of statements and directives from your administration” if it happened as reported.
