Cinco de Mayo parade canceled in Chicago due to fears over immigration enforcement
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By Joshua Nelson
Published April 14, 2025
Cinco de Mayo in Chicago will be canceled this year due to fears of strict immigration enforcement, a local organizer of the event said.
The Cermak Road Chamber of Commerce, who announced on Thursday that they are canceling the event, reportedly said the Mexican community in Chicago is concerned about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
"Our people are scared," Hector Escobar, president of the Casa Puebla and Cermak Road Chamber of Commerce, said to a local ABC affiliate.
Escobar went on to say, "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."
FRUSTRATED CHICAGO RESIDENTS FED UP WITH SPENDING ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, CALL FOR REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP
Cinco de Mayo is held annually on the southwest side of Chicago, involving a parade with musical performances and activities celebrating Mexican culture.
ICE conducted raids across the Windy City, targeting suspected criminal migrants' records, as well as arresting undocumented immigrants if they were caught at the raid sites.
Soon after President Donald Trump was elected into office, ICE made hundreds of arrests of illegal immigrants, including those with criminal histories that include sexual assault, domestic violence and drugs and weapons crimes.
CHICAGO ALDERMAN ACCUSES MAYOR JOHNSON OF ONLY LISTENING TO 'HYPER-LIBERAL WHITE PROGRESSIVES' ON IMMIGRATION
Trump's border czar pick, Tom Homan, pledged to go after Chicago with strict enforcement, vowing to verify the status of asylum seekers and arrest anyone providing sanctuary to illegal immigrants.
The incoming border czar also warned that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson would be prosecuted should he obstruct ICE's mass deportation efforts .
"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 in a statement obtained by CBS. "Our community has faced bullying and prosecution and are not indulging in community activities, therefore we feel that there is nothing to celebrate."
Escobar did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Furthermore, Johnson and other sanctuary city-supporting mayors were pressed by federal lawmakers to explain their policies last month.
Immigration has been a hot topic in the city after several residents blasted the mayor for his handling of the large influx of migrants that have come to the city over the past two years. Print Close
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The Hill
23 minutes ago
- The Hill
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26 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Images of unrest, political spin distort the reality on the ground in L.A.
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A journalist based in New Delhi pronounced, based on unspecified evidence, that Los Angeles 'is descending into a full-blown warzone.' Veterans Affairs Secretary Douglas Collins suggested that the harm from the protesters was spreading; announcing in a social media post that a care center for vets in downtown L.A. had been temporarily closed. 'To the violent mobs in Los Angeles rioting in support of illegal immigrants and against the rule of law,' his post on X said, 'your actions are interfering with Veterans' health care.' A chyron running with a Fox News commentary suggested 'Democrats have lost their mind,' as proved by their attempts to downplay the anti-ICE riots. Many Angelenos mocked the claims of a widespread public safety crisis. One person on X posted a picture of a dog out for a walk along a neatly kept sidewalk in a serene neighborhood, with the caption: 'Los Angeles just an absolute warzone, as you can see.' In stark contrast to the photos of Waymo vehicles burning and police cars being pelted with rocks, a video on social media showed a group of protestors line dancing. 'Oh my God! They must be stopped before their peaceful and joy filled dance party spreads to a city near you!' the caption read. 'Please send in the Marines before they start doing the Cha Cha and the Macarena!' And many people noted on social media that Sunday's Pride parade in Hollywood for the LGBTQ+ community went off without incident, as reinforced by multiple videos of dancers and marchers celebrating along a sun-splashed parade route. But other activists and Democrats signaled that they understand how Trump's position can be strengthened if it appears they are condoning the more extreme episodes that emerged along with the protests — police being pelted with bottles, businesses being looted and buildings being defaced with graffiti. On Tuesday, an X post by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass reiterated her earlier admonitions: 'Let me be clear: ANYONE who vandalized Downtown or looted stores does not care about our immigrant communities,' the mayor wrote. 'You will be held accountable.' The activist group Occupy Democrats posted a message online urging protesters to show their disdain for the violence and property damage. 'The moment violence of property damage begins, EVERY OTHER PROTESTER must immediately sit on the floor or the ground in silence, with signs down,' the advisory suggested. 'The media needs to film this. This will reveal paid fake thugs posing as protesters becoming violent. ….The rest of us will demonstrate our non-violent innocence and retain our Constitutional right to peaceful protest.' Craig Silverman, a journalist and cofounder of Indicator, a site that investigates deception on digital platforms, said that reporting on the context and true scope of the protests would have a hard time competing with the visceral images broadcast into Americans' homes. 'It's inevitable that the most extreme and compelling imagery will win the battle for attention on social media and on TV,' Silverman said via email. 'It's particularly challenging to deliver context and facts when social platforms incentivize the most shocking videos and claims, federal and state authorities offer contradictory messages about what's happening.' Dan Schnur, who teaches political science at USC and UC Berkeley, agreed. 'The overwhelming majority of the protesters are peaceful,' Schnur said, 'but they don't do stories on all the planes that land safely at LAX, either.' Though it might be too early to assess the ultimate impact of the L.A. unrest, Schnur suggested that all of the most prominent politicians in the drama might have accomplished their messaging goals: Trump motivated his base and diverted attention from his nasty feud with his former top advisor, Elon Musk, and the lack of progress on peace talks with Russia and Ukraine. Newsom 'effectively unified the state and elevated his national profile' by taking on Trump. And Bass, under tough scrutiny for her handling of the city's wildfire disaster, has also gotten a chance to use Trump as a foil. What was not disputed was that Trump's rapid deployment of the National Guard, without the approval of Newsom, had little precedent. And sending the Marines to L.A. was an even more extreme approach, with experts saying challenges to the deployment would test the limits of Trump's power. The federal Insurrection Act allows the deployment of the military for law enforcement purposes, but only under certain conditions, such as a national emergency. California leaders say Trump acted before a true emergency developed, thereby preempting standard protocols, including the institution of curfews and the mobilization of other local police departments in a true emergency. Even real estate developer Rick Caruso, Bass' opponent in the last election, suggested Trump acted too hastily. 'There is no emergency, widespread threat, or out of control violence in Los Angeles,' Caruso wrote on X Sunday. 'And absolutely no danger that justifies deployment of the National Guard, military, or other federal force to the streets of this or any other Southern California City.' 'We must call for calm in the streets,' Caruso added, 'and deployment of the National Guard may prompt just the opposite.'
