Fear of immigration raids force the cancellation of several July festivities in Los Angeles
The El Sereno Bicentennial Committee was one of the first organizations to announce the cancellation of its 66th Independence Day Parade in a June 20 statement on Facebook.
"We stand with our community. The safety of our participants, spectators and volunteers is always at the forefront," according to the post.
The celebration is typically composed of numerous local organizations, schools and entertainment groups along with more than 1,2000 people marching in the parade, according to the committee.
However, many groups withdrew their entries from this year's parade, which ultimately led to the committee's decision, according to the post.
Read more: L.A. street life 'paralyzed' as ICE raids keep shoppers away, close businesses
Ongoing raids throughout Los Angeles in Home Depot parking lots, popular food vendor locations and car washes have stoked fear in residents.
'You can see the impact of these random raids everywhere in our city — families are scared to go eat at restaurants, kids are scared their parents aren't going to return from the store — the fear is there because they've seen videos of people being shoved into unmarked vans by masked men refusing to identify themselves," Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told The Times.
Other previously scheduled events that have been postponed or canceled due to immigration enforcement activities include:
Fourth of July festivities in Boyle Heights, El Sereno, Lincoln Heights and Northeast Los Angeles sponsored by Los Angeles City Councilmember Ysabel Jurado's office have been postponed, a decision made after the council member heard from neighborhood advocates and community leaders across her district. A new date for the event is not available at this time.
The city of Cudahy has postponed its Independence Day Celebration that was set for Thursday, July 3. The city has yet to offer a new date for the event.
The city of Bell Gardens announced on Instagram the cancellation of two movie events, scheduled for June 26 and July 10, that are part of the 2025 Summer Nights series and takes place in Bell Gardens Veterans Park.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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