Popular El Grito festival postponed in Chicago over concerns of possible ICE operations
The popular El Grito festival in downtown Chicago has been postponed amid concerns over the potential for heightened U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement operations.
The two-day event was slated to be held Sept. 13-14 in the city’s Grant Park, but officials and organizers said they decided to postpone “due to possible U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity and a potential National Guard deployment,” saying the festival’s location made it a “more visible target.”
“This was a painful decision; however, with the heightened political tensions and given our location in downtown Chicago, we need to keep our community safe,” organizer German Gonzalez said in a statement. “To proceed in spite of the advice we’ve received directly from city and state officials and potentially expose our community to becoming collateral damage would be irresponsible. That’s a risk we are not willing to take.”
Organizers urged participants to still celebrate Mexican Independence Day “in a safe, respectful and responsible way and to support Mexican American businesses around the city and state.”
No future date was given for the celebrations and the festival’s website said it was issuing refunds for all tickets.
“Full refunds will begin immediately to everyone who purchased tickets through our website or TicketSignup,” the website stated. “Refunds will go back to the original form of payment. Please allow 7 to 10 business days for processing.”
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said he respects that organizers are doing “what they believe is in the best interests of the city and the Mexican community.”
“It is shameful that the President’s reckless, militarized immigration enforcement tactics have forced organizers of El Grito to postpone the celebration this year,” Johnson said in a statement. “Chicago honors, celebrates, and loves its cultural communities, and that will not change.”
Johnson clarified that the city did not recommend cancelling or postponing the event, adding that “the City believes strongly that the decision to proceed with or cancel events this month is in the hands of the organizers and the communities hosting them.”
Earlier this week, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he was “deeply concerned” that ICE would target Mexican Independence Day events in Chicago. The governor warned that “unidentifiable agents in unmarked vehicles with masks are planning to raid Latino communities and say they’re targeting violent criminals,” while noting that timing of such a deployment could be intentional.
“We have reason to believe that Stephen Miller chose the month of September to come to Chicago because of celebrations around Mexican Independence Day that happen here every year,” Pritzker said. “It breaks my heart to report that we have been told ICE will try and disrupt community picnics and peaceful parades. Let’s be clear: the terror and cruelty is the point, not the safety of anyone living here.”
Several parades and festivals are still scheduled for the upcoming weekend to celebrate Mexican Independence Day, though it remains unclear if additional cancellations will come.
Mexican Independence Day event organizers recently spoke to NBC Chicago about how they’re preparing for the possible presence of specialized ICE tactical units at the events.
“They’re simply celebrating their heritage, they shouldn’t be interrupted in this way,” Pritzker said.
President Donald Trump had previously told reporters “we’re going in” when asked about a slew of circulating rumors that the White House has plans to send troops to Chicago to address crime.
“Rumors have been swirling about what the White House has planned, and sifting fact from fiction has been increasingly difficult because Donald Trump’s administration is not working in coordination with the city of Chicago, Cook County or the state of Illinois,” Pritzker said.
While no official announcement has been made around the National Guard, the Trump administration has reportedly been planning to send members to Chicago in a similar manner to how they were deployed to Washington, D.C. in recent weeks, according to the National Guard and other outlets.
Pritzker also confirmed to NBC Chicago’s Mary Ann Ahern just hours before the press conference that ICE agents will be conducting enhanced immigration enforcement operations in the city in coming days.
“[They said] they will begin operations here sometime in the coming week,” Pritzker said in the exclusive interview. “That — literally after two weeks of all this talk about troops on the ground — that’s the first time we’ve heard from the federal government on this.”
Pritzker also said during the press conference that he believes staging for federal enforcement in Chicago has “already begun.”
Still, the administration of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott pushed back against Pritzker’s assertion that Texas National Guard members were deploying to Chicago, saying the governor and City Council members were “not in the loop” on any operations.
“Governor Abbott and the State of Texas are ready, willing, and able to deploy all necessary resources to clean up the streets of Chicago should President Trump call upon us to do so,” a spokesperson for Abbott told NBC Chicago.
In anticipation of increased enforcement efforts, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson last week signed an executive order, declaring Chicago police will not collaborate with military on police patrols or civil immigration enforcement.
Crime rose over the holiday weekend compared to last year; at least 58 people were shot, eight fatally, during Labor Day weekend this year. Last Labor Day weekend, at least 42 people were shot and 10 people killed, the Sun-Times reported.
However, overall violent crime in the city, including homicides, is down year over year, according to city data.