With the Fourth of July just four days way, more venues are deciding to cancel or postpone planned celebrations as immigration enforcement efforts continue to upend the region.
The latest include Huntington Park and the city of Industry.
The Huntington Park decision goes beyond the Friday holiday and includes a 30-day pause on “certain public summer events” including summer movie nights.
“This decision follows growing disruptions caused by increased ICE activity in the region,” a city statement said. “Reports of unmarked vehicles and unidentified federal agents have created widespread anxiety, particularly among immigrant and mixed-status families.
“Many residents have expressed fear and uncertainty, leading them to remain indoors, refrain from work, and withdraw from daily public life. Our priority is and will continue to be the safety and peace of mind of our community.”
Huntington Park Mayor Arturo Flores has been an outspoken critic of immigration raids in his city and slammed federal agents for blowing off the door of a home there early Friday to search for a man suspected of ramming a federal vehicle during immigration raids last week in the Bell/Maywood area.
Suspect Jorge Sierra-Hernandez was not home at the time, but his girlfriend and two young children were left shaken by the violent tactics at the home in the 3500 block of Flower Street. Sierra-Hernandez later turned himself in and was free on bail.
The city of Whittier is canceling its 4th of July Freedom Walk, which was originally scheduled for Friday morning at Palm Park. But the city’s evening 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular at York Field will go ahead as scheduled.
“While celebrating our nation’s founding is very important to me and to Whittier residents,” Whittier Mayor Joe Vinatieri said, “my colleagues and I also want to be sensitive to the recent feedback we’ve received from some community members asking that we pause this year’s Freedom Walk event.”
The big Summer Block Party at Gloria Molina Grand Park, which drew more than 20-thousand people in 2024, has been postponed indefinitely.
The County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation is also postponing summer movies and concerts at Schabarum Park in Rowland Heights, 17250 Colima Road, until further notice,
Other events in majority-Hispanic communities have also been scrapped or delayed including in Bell Gardens, Cudahy, Boyle Heights, El Sereno, Lincoln Heights and Northeast Los Angeles.
In canceling its 66th Annual Independence Day Parade, the El Sereno Bicentennial Committee noted that “our participation is usually robust with over 1,200 people marching in the parade. The people who participate in the parade are some of the most patriotic people you would meet. They believe in the promise of this land, of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
“This year we will have to cancel our celebrations. We stand with our community. The safety of our participants, spectators, and volunteers is at the forefront.”
Meanwhile in South Los Angeles, friends and relatives of community activist Yuriana Julia “Juli” Pelaez Calderon, who was “abducted” by men in an unmarked car on June 25 while on her way to work, have scheduled a 1 p.m. news conference to demand information on her whereabouts.
Organizers said Calderon has lived in South Los Angeles for more than 20 years and is raising three children, who were all born in the U.S., and has been caring for two disabled family members. She is also a member of the community organization Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment.
“Community leaders are outraged by yet another abduction conducted by men in an unmarked car, with unknown affiliations,” organizers said. “The group is demanding to know where Juli is and demanding that she be allowed to meet with her attorney.
“Juli was able to make a phone call late Friday and told her family that: She is in a warehouse, but she does not know the location; She believes that the people who picked her up are bounty hunters; There are many others being held where she is being held.”
In Culver City Sunday, elected officials and community members held a rally and fundraiser for a popular street vendor who has been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents since June 23.
On Tuesday, Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis plans to introduce a motion “directing county counsel to explore potential legal action against unconstitutional immigration enforcement practices, including illegal search and seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.”
Solis particularly criticized the recent arrest of a man in unincorporated Valinda, which borders the city of La Puente, claiming videos by witnesses show the man bleeding while being detained.
Southland officials have repeatedly sounded the alarm over the tactics used by federal immigration officials and questioned the legality of ongoing raids in Los Angeles County.
Solis’ motion addresses actions such as stopping, questioning, or detaining individuals without reasonable suspicion and arresting people without probable cause or a valid warrant.
“The county may initiate or join existing legal actions to hold federal agencies accountable and safeguard the constitutional rights of all community members,” Solis said.
Federal officials have defended agents’ efforts to maintain anonymity during immigration operations, saying it is essential to maintain their safety from protesters who could publicize their names and other information, potentially endangering their lives and their families.
U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli also took issue with California’s so-called “sanctuary” status, in which local law enforcement officials refuse to assist immigration enforcement efforts.
“In every other state, we can go into a county jail, we can screen criminals for their immigration status, and we can take them directly from jail and deport them,” Essayli told KTLA5 on Friday. “We can train police officers to do immigration screening so when they run into people committing criminal activities, we can focus on those people and get them deported. We can’t do any of that in the state of California. So we have to go out into the community and we have to do broad immigration enforcement operations.”