"See, some of them, they don't even want to go to work and some of them, they've taken a high risk. And, definitely, it's not much to celebrate.”
The reason, they say, is fear within the Mexican community due to immigration policies under President Donald Trump’s administration. Organizers said they chose to cancel the event to focus on safety rather than profits, ABC 7 reports.
“Our people are scared,” said Hector Escobar, President of the Casa Puebla & Cermak Road Chamber of Commerce. “See, some of them, they don't even want to go to work and some of them, they've taken a high risk. And, definitely, it's not much to celebrate.”
Since Trump took office, Chicago, which is a sanctuary city, has become a target for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). There has been an increase in deportation activity both in the city and nearby suburbs. That increase has created worry for local businesses in the Little Village neighborhood, where the parade normally begins on Cermak Road.
"Our community is very frightened because of the raids and the threat that ICE has imposed on the families that work tirelessly to provide a better future for their kids," Escobar said. "Our community has faced bullying and prosecution and are not indulging in community activities, therefore we feel that there is nothing to celebrate."
“We don't want to have any confrontation or having people taken away from the festival, from the parade to custody,” Escobar said.That fear also led many sponsors to walk away. Nearly half pulled out of the event. “We could have done it with the 50% of the sponsorship, which is great, but it's not, again, about money. It's just more about the safety,” Escobar said.
The parade has had issues in the past. It wasn’t held from 2018 to 2022, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and also due to disagreements between organizers and city officials. Last year, the route had to be changed after what police said was gang-related violence. That incident led to multiple arrests.
“At this point, we don't know what is going to happen next year,” Escobar said.
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