Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday swiftly denied Gov. JB Pritzker’s request to halt immigration enforcement operations throughout Chicago for three days so children could safely celebrate Halloween.

“We’re absolutely not willing to put on pause any work that we will do to keep communities safe,” Noem said at a Gary, Ind. press conference. “The fact that Governor Pritzker is asking for that is shameful, and I think unfortunate that he doesn’t recognize how important the work is that we do to make sure that we are bringing criminals to justice and bringing them off our streets.”

Pritzker’s request, first obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times, came four days after ICE agents fired tear gas in the Old Irving Park neighborhood as families and children walked to a Halloween parade. And it happened a day after U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis told U.S. Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino that a “sense of safety was shattered” for children who witnessed the deployment.

“Illinois families deserve to spend Halloween weekend without fear,” Pritzker wrote in the letter sent Wednesday. {snip}

Pritzker said he was “respectfully requesting” the pause from Friday to Sunday in and around homes, schools, hospitals, parks, houses of worship and other community gatherings where Halloween celebrations are taking place.

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The Democratic governor wrote that if the deployment of tear gas Saturday on the Northwest Side “happened as reported,” without warning, “it would have been in direct violation of statements and directives from your administration.”

DHS said in a statement that multiple warnings were issued before the tear gas was released {snip}

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