Some cities have canceled or severely downplayed Cinco de Mayo events for fear of ICE raids and deportations.
Speaking with CNN on Monday, Chicago resident Hector Escobar, president of the Casa Puebla and Cermak Road Chamber of Commerce, said that people in his community are “very scared” of gathering in public with some even considering going back to Mexico.
“Our people are very scared,” he said. “Honestly, they’re saying they don’t want to go to work. They have to go to work because they have to feed their families. So, if they both were working, now one person is working.”
As to why he canceled the Cinco de Mayo parade in Chicago’s Little Village, which attracts up to 300,000 people annually, Escobar said that too many people are afraid.
“How about the parade? How about the festivities? And they say, ‘Well, if we’re scared to go to work, I don’t think it’s nothing to celebrate.’ So, that took us to the decision over money,” he said. “We see all over the country this picking up of people with no criminal records. And honestly, it’s a horrible way. We have seen, in my 45 years I’ve been living here in the United States.”
“Believe me, some people are already thinking about going back to Mexico,” he added. “The governor of Puebla, Alejandro Armenta, is going to open an office here in Chicago to help people who want to go back to Mexico and try to do some business or try to put the kids back to school in Mexico.”
Chicago declared itself a “Sanctuary City,” which bars local law enforcement from cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on federal immigration laws.
According to CNN, UnidosUs, the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization, “found that 43% of Latino voters fear immigration authorities will arrest people, even if they are US citizens.”
“The city of Philadelphia also canceled its El Carnaval de Puebla festival this year, an annual event in April that celebrates Mexican culture,” added CNN. Olga Renteria, the festival organizer, said that people are being cautious.
In Oregon, organizers also canceled the annual Latino Fest scheduled for December in Madras.
“It’s a celebration of joy, and when people are experiencing anxiety around possible fear of deportation, then we feel it’s more responsible and ethical to not celebrate this year,” said Catalina Sánchez Frank, executive director of the Latino Community Association.
ICE has detained nearly 66,500 migrants who entered the United States illegally during the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s presidency.
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