“Halloween is a little less scary this year with these monsters off American streets.” Tricia McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security, announced this past Halloween, claiming the true horror in America was the “violent criminal illegal aliens." These remarks came in the form of a press release, one of many that have been made as Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been deployed to major U.S. cities in recent months as part of President Donald Trump’s promise to crack down on illegal immigration. On a normal day, ICE patrols spread a current of fear and anxiety throughout communities. On Halloween, these sentiments were raised to an entirely new level.

In Chicago, state governor, JB Pritzker, requested a temporary pause on the Chicago immigration enforcement campaign for the duration of the Halloween weekend. This request was met with dismissal from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, calling it “shameful” while declaring that the work ICE conducted to “keep communities safe” would not be put on pause. Following this noble commitment from the federal government to keep citizens safe, they proceeded to deploy tear gas and arrest individuals on a residential block. The Halloween parade that had been scheduled to take place just a few hours later was subsequently canceled.

What emerged were conflicting stories. The Department of Homeland Security claimed they were “boxed in by agitators” while local residents said it was neighbors stepping outside of their homes, cell phones in hand, to document the violence unfolding on the street they lived on. This is typical of the narrative unfolding of ICE. Nearly every press release from the office features a blistering bravado in tone, heralding brave officers who “get up every morning to try and make our communities safer” from “murders, rapists, pedophiles, terrorists, and gang members.” Meanwhile, reports continue of what can only be called terrorizing of citizens using tear gas, pulling guns on documenting bystanders, and wandering around on Halloween with Chucky masks while detaining individuals.

There is a certain level of cartoonish evil in these actions that makes it hard to believe. The disappearance of individuals, the lack of accountability, and the fact that all of this is happening in the midst of a government shutdown create a certain incredulity at what Americans are witnessing on the news and on their way to work. But amidst all this horror, what is equally daunting is the prospect of the future. Can this go on for another three and a half years?

This is, of course, the wrong question. It seems this will go on as long as it is allowed. After all, ICE raids did not cease even as most government functions did during the recent shutdown. The more appropriate question is: how will this go on? Will we have headlines during Thanksgiving and Christmas detailing how families are too scared to gather together? Will school districts begin to offer virtual learning options for students terrified to attend in-person?

There are obviously no easy answers for these questions, but even their existence demonstrates the shifting fabric of the U.S. climate. ICE currently holds nearly 60,000 people in detention, an all-time high in recent years. As raids expand to different U.S. cities and individuals emerge from homes to film their neighbors being taken, it is easy to see a new normal unfold. But one can only hope that as this continues, so does the community solidarity that we have seen grow to match it, from neighborhood patrols to city-wide protests.