May 5th Parade Canceled in Chicago Due to Deportation Fears

The May 5th parade in Chicago was canceled amid fears among the Mexican community, and those in other countries, over raids by various U.S. agencies aimed at arresting and deporting people without legal documents en masse.

Migrant Community Growing Fear of Raids

This May 5th, the streets of Little Village in Chicago, Illinois, looked like other days, except they shouldn’t have. Normally, hundreds, if not thousands, of people parade alongside floats and dozens of Mexican flags through the streets of the town, which is mostly inhabited by Mexicans.

The event’s organizers confirmed to MILENIO that the parade was canceled due to concerns that the Donald Trump administration is targeting Chicago, the third-largest sanctuary city for migrants in the United States.

“Our people are afraid. That’s the reality. And when we consulted with the community and businesses, it was really a matter of either losing money or making money or protecting the community. And the community, the people, are truly afraid, and that’s why it was decided to cancel it,” Héctor Escobar, president of Casa Puebla, a nonprofit organization that supports the migrant community, told to the press.

Since Donald Trump took office, the U.S. government has been determined to carry out dozens of raids in cities where the presence of migrant populations has been identified.

Unlike in other years, agencies other than immigration agencies, such as the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), have been used to arrest undocumented migrants.