Organizers for Fiesta del Sol gathered in front of the Pilsen Neighbors Community Council Monday to say they don’t want to see agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducting enforcement actions at this year’s event.
The 53rd annual Fiesta del Sol, which kicks off Thursday, historically draws more than a million visitors to Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood for four days of Mexican art, food, games and music. It’s one of the largest Latino festivals in the nation.
“Fiesta del Sol is more than a festival. It’s a celebration for the community and for our families,” said Fiesta del Sol co-chair Juana Medina at a press conference Monday morning. “For the past seven months, Chicago’s immigrant communities have been under attack by several federal agencies. ICE is in our streets, knocking on our doors, persecuting immigrants at different and many places. We are here today to show unity, solidarity and to let them know that our community events are a safe place of joy.”
Enforcement actions by ICE and federal authorities have ramped up in the Chicago area and across the country in recent months as part of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign. Immigration officials arrested a person last week without presenting a warrant or identifying themselves at a courthouse in Maywood.
Two weeks ago, agents with the Department of Homeland Security made an unannounced visit to the National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture just days before the group’s Barrio Arts Festival in the city’s Humboldt Park neighborhood.
Jennifer Aguilar, executive director of the Little Village Chamber of Commerce, says families shouldn’t have to worry about ICE coming to disrupt the event and being separated from loved ones.
“This is a right that we have as a community, to have our spaces to celebrate and to be in community together,” Aguilar said. “We want to stand together and support … instead of canceling or just being in fear and stopping these important celebrations.”
ICE did not respond to a request for comment.
Brandon Lee, spokesperson for the Chicago-based Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, said ICE is targeting Latino communities, not just here but also in other major cities such as Los Angeles.
ICIRR have organized rapid response teams to respond to ICE enforcement actions and have provided training sessions for vendors and volunteers with “Know Your Rights” materials at Fiesta del Sol and other events.
“We’re in a new moment and ICE is targeting our communities and our neighbors. ICE is constantly adopting new tactics, and they are abducting more people than ever. It’s no secret that they’re focusing on parks and public spaces,” Lee said. “It’s why festival organizers across the city and the suburbs need to prepare themselves. We look forward to partnering with even more festivals to make sure it’s known that we keep each other safe and ICE is not welcome in our communities or in our city.”
Beatriz Ponce de Leon, the city’s Deputy Mayor of Immigrant, Migrant and Refugee Rights, said the residents need to reject the negative attacks coming from the federal government. She said the city won a court challenge last week by the U.S. Justice Department against the city’s Sanctuary City ordinance when a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit.
“Fiesta del Sol is a joyous celebration. It’s unfortunate that there has to be this fear around federal immigration enforcement,” Ponce de Leon said. “We will protect each other and we will take care of each other, and that’s what makes Chicago such a great city.”
Organizers are also concerned about another major celebration just weeks away for the Mexican Independence Day celebrations in Little Village as well as elsewhere in the city in mid-September.
“We will not stand back. We will not stand down to fear, and we want to make sure that we are together and supporting all the other events in our communities and from our partners this year,” Aguilar said.