St. Paul Cinco de Mayo parade planned despite Chicago, Philly canceling over ICE

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Chicago and Philadelphia canceled their respective Cinco de Mayo parades over ICE concerns and the Trump administration’s efforts to deport undocumented migrants.

Cinco de Mayo parades canceled 

What they're saying:

"Unfortunately, we have to cancel the Cinco de Mayo parade and festivities. It was a hard decision… because all people are afraid, very afraid of their rights, very afraid of the new administration," said Hector Escobar, Cermak Road Chamber of Commerce and Casa Puebla President.

Organizers from both parades cite the growing fear in the Latino community over the Trump Administration’s Immigration policies.

In St. Paul, there are growing fears as well. 

"I know there's concerns around here, vendors, and some people in the community," said Santino Franco, co-chair of West Side Fiestas.

St. Paul Cinco de Mayo

Local perspective:

The concerns around St. Paul’s Cinco De Mayo Parade stem from undocumented migrants getting deported by ICE around the country.

It follows a campaign promise President Trump made to deport all illegal immigrants. 

"I don't anticipate having ICE here. I think that would be unfortunate to come down here, where we anticipate having over 20,000 people. You know, this is a day of celebration," said Franco.

Currently, 30 non-food vendors have backed out of this year’s parade, citing concern over a potential lower turnout due to fears of ICE.

"We've had some meetings on immigration, and of course there's probably some undocumented people in the neighborhood that there's concerns," said Franco.

The show must go on:

Santino Franco says they are getting more phone calls from vendors for the parade.

They also have more food vendors this year than last year. He hopes the parade goes off without a hitch. 

"We invite everybody here. So, you know, there's no concerns for us, because, you know, we're here and we're legal, we're Americans," said Franco.

Franco adds that there’s nothing he or St. Paul police can do to prevent ice from coming.

The Cino De Mayo festivities are set to take place the first weekend in May.

The parade kicks off Saturday, May 3.