President Donald Trump's plan to dispatch National Guard troops and immigration agents into Chicago has put many Latino residents on edge, prompting some to carry their U.S. passports while giving others pause about openly celebrating the upcoming Mexican Independence Day.

Though the holiday falls on Sept. 16, celebrations in Chicago span more than a week and draw hundreds of thousands of participants. Festivities kicked off with a Saturday parade through the heavily Mexican Pilsen neighborhood and continued with car caravans and lively street parties.

Some parade-goers grabbed free, bright-orange whistles and flyers from volunteers standing outside the Lozano Branch of the Chicago Public Library. “Blow the whistle on ICE!” the flyers read, encouraging a nonviolent tactic to raise alarm if agents appear at the event.

Spectators held up cardboard signs painted with monarch butterflies, the migratory species that travels between the U.S. and Mexico. Many cheered “Viva Mexico!”

Drivers of vintage cars honked their horns and a drummer kept time for a group of dancers bedecked in feathers. Horseback riders clip-clopped down the street, and one lifted up a large Mexican flag.

In Pilsen and Little Village, two of the city's best-known neighborhoods with restaurants, businesses and cultural ties to Mexican culture, residents expressed disappointment that the potential federal intervention instilled such fear and anxiety in the community.

It comes at a time of year usually characterized by joy, togetherness and celebration of Mexican American heritage.

AP video shot by Mark Vancleave