Mexican independence events canceled amid ICE crackdown

Chicago residents have been on edge at the possibility of President Trump deploying federal immigration agents and the National Guard in Chicago this week. Several Mexican-American groups have canceled or postponed Mexican Independence Day celebrations in response.

Mexican Independence Day falls on Tuesday September 16 and marks the day Mexico gained freedom from the Spanish Empire in 1810. Celebrations in Chicago such as the El Grito festival that was planned for September 13 and 14 in Grant Park have been canceled. The festival that pays homage to “The Cry of Independence” or “El Grito” drew 24,000 attendees last year. Organizers are in the process of refunding tickets, according to the festival’s website.

In Waukegan, a suburb around 45 miles north of Chicago, Fiestas Patrias, an independence day parade that was planned for next Sunday, September 14 has been postponed as of Wednesday. Organizer Margaret Carrasco says she expects she may cancel “Day of the Dead” celebrations at the start of November as well and postpone all festivities to December.

Carrasco said that she decided to cancel the parade because her neighbors and other Waukegan residents had heard about ICE agents staying at hotels near the Great Lakes Naval base in the last few weeks.

“They’ve been preparing for quite some time,” Carrasco said of the immigration agents, “We knew early on that this would be a massive attack on the community.”

She and other Waukegan residents have been conducting clinics to teach immigrant neighbors about their rights and have been posting signs in local businesses advising residents to carry identification or immigration paperwork with them and to avoid large public gatherings where they could be detained. Carrasco said that the number of immigration officials she expects in the region made her cancel the parade.

“Sometimes in life you need to pick your fights,” Carrasco said, “we don’t want families being separated.”

Latin Heritage Fest, an event planned for September 13 in Wauconda, a suburb northwest of Chicago, was also canceled. The Wauconda Latin Heritage Fest was going to feature Mexican food, music, Mexican folk dances, games and a pageant in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, according to a website for the event.

Organizers cancelled the event because of concerns related to immigration in the area, according to a statement posted by the Wauconda Police Department on social media.