The city of Everett, Massachusetts says it is canceling its upcoming Hispanic Heritage Month festival due to concerns about potential Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids.
The fourth annual rumba Del Rio scheduled for Sept. 20 at Rivergreen Park was set to highlight Hispanic-owned businesses, organizations and cultural programs in Everett.
“We know how much this event means to our city. It’s a celebration of culture, beat, food and togetherness,” the city said in social media posts. “But with the recent ICE raids in our region, many of our friends and neighbors are feeling fear and uncertainty.”
Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria said it was supposed to be a day of celebration. “Those who were going to be cooking for us, the food, the restaurants and the entertainment, just felt very uncomfortable,” Mayor DeMaria said.
“Everybody gets excited to have one month to celebrate the beauty of Latin America. The colors, the flavors, and rhythms,” said Veronica Robles, executive director of the Veronica Robles Cultural Center.
Robles said that has immediately been overshadowed. “People are concerned, are afraid, not only for themselves but for their families and their friends, for their coworkers,” Robles said. “We are living in unprecedented times.”
“Patriot 2.0” operation
Earlier this month, ICE began targeting Massachusetts with another immigration crackdown called “Patriot 2.0.” The Justice Department has sued neighboring Boston over its “sanctuary city” policies and the city’s refusal to cooperate with immigration enforcement.
“We believe it would not be right to hold a celebration at a time when members of our community may not feel safe attending,” the city of Everett said.
Homeland Security said the “Patriot 2.0” operation would “target the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens” in the state. However, advocates for local immigrant groups have said that the people they serve are scared.
“People are terrified”
“People are terrified, everybody is terrified. I think they are worried they can be picked up for no reason,” Jeff Theilman, the president and CEO of International Institute of New England, told WBZ-TV.
The city of Everett said, “We remain committed to celebrating our city’s diversity in the future, and we will look for other ways to come together as one community.”
DeMaria said the decision came after a local resident posted a video online showing ICE agents at Rivergreen Park, where the event was scheduled to be held. “I guess they were using that as a spot to meet,” DeMaria said.
DeMaria said he was assured by ICE officials that they would not have been in the city on the date of the festival, but with the number of cancellations they received, there would not be enough vendors to have the event.
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