U.S. Secretary of the Department of Homeland Secret Service, Kristi Noem, made an appearance at annual Christmas
An appearance by U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at the 26th annual Christmas Tree Ship Ceremony at Navy Pier led Saturday to one of two downtown protests — one targeting immigrant raids and the other the simmering military conflict in Venezuela.
The Navy Pier Christmas ceremony is a tradition where crew members unload approximately 1,200 trees from the USCGC Mackinaw onto trucks to donate to families in need.
In a brief speech Saturday morning, Noem thanked everyone involved in organizing the event and hoped those in attendance would “recognize that we bring them news of happiness and peace.”
Dozens of protesters gathered more than an hour before Noem spoke, but were escorted back to Polk Bros. Park by Chicago police officers before the start of the event. Although the group was moved, they could be heard singing from across the park.
Activist Andy Thayer said Noem “crashed” the ceremony as a publicity stunt. “I think it’s insulting that she came to our city after causing so much destruction, not only to the people of our city, but to the city itself,” Thayer said. “It was a real economic blow. We had families separated, people lost their jobs because of what she did, and she had the courage to come forward.”
Beatrix Hoffman, from the Gold Coast neighborhood, went to the protest after seeing an article about Noem coming to Chicago for the Christmas tree ceremony.
“We don’t want her here,” Hoffman said. “I’m tired of seeing this government come to our city and take away our neighbors.”
Noem’s Christmas visit comes after a fall in which thousands of Chicago and suburban residents protested, resisted and whistled at federal immigration agents who went down to their neighborhoods.
Without immediate regard for citizenship or legal status, agents in Operation Midway Blitz people were repeatedly detained first – sometimes in unmarked vehicles or after chasing them through neighborhoods – and then sought information about them.
In an incident in September, an officer shot dead father of two who was originally from Mexico and had lived in the United States for almost 20 years.
Thousands of arrests resulted from immigration enforcement raids during the administration of President Donald Trump, who called Chicago a “hell hole.”
In October, Noem criticized the media and politicians, including Gov. JB Pritzker, for “attempting to demonize” the Trump administration’s federal immigration agents and law enforcement operations.
Earlier that month, she showed up at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement center in west suburban Broadview amid violent protests and met with ICE and Border Patrol agents.
“It may seem like here, when you’re in the middle of this chaos, you’re not necessarily sure, but, boy, the American people are just thrilled to have you and to have you on the job and on the task of restoring and making America safe again,” she said, based on social media posts by a right-wing influencer who was then embedded in ICE operations. “We’re not just here, we’re here to stay, we’re growing and we’re going to make this city safe again.”
The ICE and Border Patrol arrests and detentions sparked a wave of legal activity, some related to the activity of federal agents itself and some linked to the protests that followed, primarily at the Broadview facility.
Some detainees being booked several times, ICE recorded a total of 1,912 reservations at the two Chicago-area ICE facilities from September 8 to October 15, according to the most recent data available. By mid-October, the arrest rate was roughly double that of early June, the most intense period of immigration enforcement before Operation Midway Blitz, the Tribune found.
The administration said it targeted the “worst of the worst,” who lacked legal status to reside in the United States and who had committed a violent crime; DHS has also previously said it welcomes the arrest of anyone without legal status in the United States, whether they are law-abiding or not.
Two-thirds of the nearly 1,900 immigrants detained during the first half of the surge had no known criminal convictions or pending charges, according to newly released federal data.
Around noon, another rally of about 75 people took place, in front of the Wrigley Building on North Michigan Avenue, where Chicago organizations and residents spoke out against the war in Venezuela.
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People walk by as protesters denounce recent U.S. military actions in the Caribbean Sea near Venezuela in front of the Wrigley Building, December 6, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
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People walk by as protesters denounce recent U.S. military actions in the Caribbean Sea near Venezuela in front of the Wrigley Building, December 6, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
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The rally was one of several other protests across the country, according to the website of ANSWER Coalition, one of several organizations that organized the event. ANSWER stands for Act Now to Stop War and End Racism.
The rally comes after several U.S. military airstrikes on suspected drug-trafficking boats – the first in September in the Caribbean – which reportedly killed more than 80 people.
Alilithia Zamantakis, an organizer with the coalition, said the same types of injustice regarding immigration in Chicago were happening abroad.
“We simply demand that the billions of dollars they are willing to spend killing people in Latin America be used for the poor here in this country,” she said.
