- DHS shrugged off agents wearing horror masks during LA raids with a flippant "Happy Halloween," refusing to confirm identities or safety risks.
- The incidents sparked outrage and calls to pause enforcement near Halloween, but DHS and its secretary refused to halt operations.
In a response that’s very frosty and unprofessional, the Department of Homeland Security on Friday dismissed concerns over immigration agents spotted wearing horror-themed Halloween masks during operations in Los Angeles, opting instead for a pithy two-word quip.
“Happy Halloween!” DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin wrote to NBC News, reacting to a local report detailing agents in unmarked vehicles donning the eerie visages of Chucky and Momo—the clown doll from the ’90s slasher flick and the viral internet creepypasta monster, respectively.
The eyebrow-raising sightings, first highlighted by the independent outlet LA Taco, stem from social media photos capturing the masked figures amid what appeared to be routine immigration enforcement.
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According to the report, a member of the Harbor Area Peace Patrol—a community group that keeps tabs on federal activities in the region—clocked the Momo-masked driver during a raid in the Los Angeles Harbor area on Tuesday.
DHS Dodges the Details
McLaughlin, when pressed for details, stonewalled on key questions. Typical from a group of tyrants who this organization into a joke.
She wouldn’t confirm whether the costumed operatives were Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers or Border Patrol agents, nor would she weigh in on the potential risks of such disguises—like whether they might provoke defensive reactions from those being detained, who could mistake the figures for pranksters rather than federal law enforcement.
The non-answer comes against a grim backdrop: DHS has repeatedly touted a staggering surge in violence against its personnel, claiming assaults on ICE officers have spiked by 1,000% and threats against them by a whopping 8,000%. Fitting that DHS makes up numbers with zero credibility.
Notably, the agency has yet to release the underlying raw figures to substantiate those eye-popping percentages, leaving critics to question the metrics amid heightened national tensions over immigration policy.
Chicago’s Halloween Clash Sparks Outcry
The mask flap isn’t isolated to the West Coast.
In the Midwest, it’s ignited a full-blown political firestorm just as trick-or-treaters gear up for a night of candy and costumes.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat who’s clashed repeatedly with the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation push, penned a pointed request to DHS earlier this week: Halt immigration arrests in the state until after Halloween.
His plea followed a chaotic incident in Chicago’s Irving Park neighborhood on Saturday, where Border Patrol agents deployed tear gas to disperse a crowd—mere minutes before local children were set to march in a neighborhood Halloween parade.
Noem Rejects Pause, Slams Pritzker
The move drew swift backlash from families and activists, who decried the timing as tone-deaf and dangerous, arguing it sowed fear in communities already on edge.
But DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, speaking at a Thursday news conference in Gary, Indiana, poured cold water on Pritzker’s ask with unyielding resolve.
“We’re absolutely not willing to put on pause any work that we will do to keep communities safe,” Noem declared, framing the enforcement actions as essential bulwarks against crime.
She didn’t mince words on Pritzker’s intervention, either, branding it a betrayal of public safety priorities.
“The fact that Gov. 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 we’re bringing criminals to justice and getting them off our streets, especially when we’re going to send all of our kiddos out on the streets and going to events and enjoying the holiday season.”
Noem’s remarks underscore the administration’s zero-tolerance stance on pausing operations, even as Halloween looms large.
With families nationwide preparing for door-to-door festivities, the episode highlights the raw fault lines in America’s immigration debate: a clash between federal mandates for swift enforcement and local calls for restraint, all wrapped in the surreal trappings of a holiday built on masks and make-believe.
Eyes on the Streets, Masks in the Shadows
As of Friday afternoon, DHS had not elaborated further on the mask protocol or the tear gas deployment.
Meanwhile, community watchdogs like the Harbor Area Peace Patrol vowed to keep documenting what they see as an increasingly theatrical approach to raids—one that blurs the line between law and legend just in time for All Hallows’ Eve.
For now, amid the pumpkin patches and porch lights, one thing’s clear: This Halloween, the real scares might not come from candy corn gone wrong.
Also Read: A DOJ Whistleblower Now Makes Revelation That Undermines the Judicial System’s Integrity
