(NewsNation) — Cultural celebrations have been dramatically affected across the country this summer as community fears over the presence of immigration officers have forced event organizers to make difficult decisions.
Hundreds of events around the country have either been postponed or canceled amid federal immigration enforcement efforts being conducted by the Department of Homeland Security, according to multiple media reports.
The Trump administration has pushed Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to make 3,000 arrests per day as part of the president’s ongoing effort to conduct the largest domestic mass deportation effort in modern American history. However, amid a push to add 10,000 new ICE officers, administration officials have claimed there is no quota or directive.
That hasn’t calmed the concerns of the organizers of summer festivals, such as Festival Chapín de Los Angeles, who changed their original plans in response to ICE activity.
The annual two-day Guatemalan cultural event, which was initially slated for late August, has been postponed until mid-October. Los Angeles took center stage for ICE immigration enforcement efforts that led to rioting and sparked nationwide protests, prompting Trump to deploy the U.S. Marines and National Guard.
Festival organizers unwilling to risk attendees’ safety
The organizers of Festival Chapín de Los Angeles announced in mid-July they were pushing their celebration back by nearly two months.
“This decision aims to ensure the safety and well-being of all sponsors, collaborators, staff, and attendees,” the organizers said in a news release announcing the postponement. “Your safety and the integrity of our event remain our top priorities.”
The president of the festival told the Los Angeles Times that, because of the ongoing nature of the ICE enforcement efforts, keeping the community informed of the committee’s plans remained difficult.
“[I feel] sad because we’ve seen how they’ve violated the rights of each person,” Rosales told the newspaper. “It hasn’t been done through the legal channels or in a correct manner. It’s rather abusive.”
ICE activity has also affected festival planning in other parts of the country. In Chicago, organizers of the city’s annual Cinco de Mayo parade canceled the event over concerns about the administration’s immigration crackdown, WTTW reported.
Parade organizers told WTTW that nearly half the sponsors for the event dropped out amid concerns that ICE could be present.
“It really didn’t matter about how much money we could make or how much money we could lose, but more important is to keep the community safe,” Hector Escobar, president of Casa Puebla and the Cermak Road Chamber of Commerce, told the Chicago-based station.
Chicago has been among Democratic-led cities with so-called “sanctuary” policies in place, which limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
On a visit to Chicago this summer, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., criticized Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson for “being on the wrong side of the law” when it came to his stance on local police assisting ICE.
“Any politician — it doesn’t matter what party you’re in — you should be in favor of the people who are upholding the law and trying to keep our communities safe,” Johnson said in June. “The idea that the mayor here would say the crazy things that he has said about ICE, he’s got it completely upside down.
“He is applauding and supporting dangerous criminals instead of the people who are trying to keep our citizens safe.”
In Chicago, a ‘blueprint for festivals’
In early July, officials from Chicago’s National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture criticized the Department of Homeland Security after they said more than a dozen DHS vehicles spent nearly two hours at the museum without prior notice or a warrant.
DHS denied it was conducting immigration enforcement and said agents were there as part of an unrelated drug investigation. But the timing of the visit came as the museum was preparing to host the Barrio Arts Festival, Colombian Festival and Fiesta Boricua.
Local officials criticized federal immigration agencies for “intentionally trying to intimidate” community members with an “intentional scare tactic” that “has nothing to do with safety,” NewsNation previously reported.
In other parts of the nation, including Seattle, Philadelphia, New York and Kansas City, other celebratory festivals have been affected as ICE continues to patrol neighborhoods and cities in search of migrants on their list for apprehension, the Guardian reported.
Organizers said thoughts of canceling events began soon after President Donald Trump’s inauguration and have continued in the months since. But as raids continue, some events — like the Barrio Arts Festival in Chicago — continued in force, determined not to let immigration enforcement efforts stand in the way of local communities celebrating their heritage.
This year’s Barrio Arts Festival was the largest in its 25-year history, event organizers said, encouraging other event planners of similar events not to allow ICE to dictate community celebrations.
“We stood against intimidation,” said Veronica Ocasio, the museum’s president. “And we created a blueprint for festivals in the city of Chicago.”