Concerns over immigration enforcement have led to the cancellation or scaling down of Cinco de Mayo celebrations in multiple U.S. cities, with community leaders citing growing unease over possible ICE raids and deportations.
In an interview with CNN, Chicago community leader Hector Escobar—who heads both Casa Puebla and the Cermak Road Chamber of Commerce—shared that fear is widespread in the city’s immigrant neighborhoods. “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.”
Escobar, who canceled the widely attended Cinco de Mayo parade in Little Village, a Chicago neighborhood known for its strong Mexican-American presence, said the decision stemmed from overwhelming anxiety. “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 explained. “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.”
Escobar noted that some community members are considering leaving the country entirely. “Believe me, some people are already thinking about going back to Mexico,” he said. “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.”
Despite being a self-declared “Sanctuary City,” which restricts cooperation between local police and federal immigration authorities, Chicago has not been immune to the climate of fear.
A report from CNN highlighted a poll by UnidosUS, the largest Hispanic civil rights group in the U.S., which found that 43% of Latino voters worry that immigration officers could target individuals for arrest even if they are U.S. citizens.
The concern is not limited to Chicago. Philadelphia also called off its annual El Carnaval de Puebla, usually held in April as a tribute to Mexican culture. According to CNN, event organizer Olga Renteria explained that the decision reflected the apprehension felt by many in the community.
In Oregon, the Latino Fest scheduled for December in Madras has also been canceled. Catalina Sánchez Frank, executive director of the Latino Community Association, explained the reasoning. “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,” she said.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has taken nearly 66,500 individuals into custody for unauthorized entry during the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s administration.
{Matzav.com}