President Donald Trump’s immigration policies are casting a pall over a typically joyful period of celebration and cultural festivities in the Chicago area.
Historically, the city and surrounding towns host a number of events commemorating Mexican Independence Day, which takes place on Sept. 16 and is observed by hundreds of thousands of people around this time each year.
Mexican Americans comprise one of the largest immigrant groups in the city, and about one-fifth of Chicago’s residents.
In anticipation of the surge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the area, however, organizers have either cancelled or postponed multiple events, while others intend to forge onward with more muted gatherings.
“It was a painful decision, but holding El Grito Chicago at this time puts the safety of our community at stake – and that’s a risk we are unwilling to take,” the organizers of a popular annual festival shared in a statement announcing the postponement of their two-day event.
