Hundreds of locals and visitors gathered for Little Village’s 54th annual Mexican Independence Day Parade Sunday, in a roaring celebration of pride and power — the theme of this year’s event. It followed the cancellation of several other Mexican heritage festivities across Chicagoland amid a looming surge of immigration crackdown operations in the area under the Trump administration.
But the crowds were considerably thinner. In previous years, sidewalks would be packed, making it impossible to walk along the parade route, attendees noted. On Sunday, most people congregated along the fences, leaving plenty of space between them and the many storefronts on 26th Street.
“There are not nearly as many people as before. It’s a bit depressing, to be honest. But it’s to be expected,” said Natalie Rodríguez. Chicago-born and raised, the Puerto Rican Mexican paradegoer was there with her two children and her wife, who is Guatemalan.
Several attendees told the Tribune they had heard from friends, family or acquaintances who decided against going this year, citing an “increased risk” of enforcement action that has put migrants with different kinds of citizenship status on edge.
“Depressing is truly the only word,” Rodríguez repeated, echoing a widespread sentiment during the weekend’s festivities.
While fewer in numbers, those present on Sunday were loudly defiant of the administration’s actions in their demonstrations of pride. Some carried signs that said “Migra: Fuera de Chicago,” using a slang word ‘migra‘ for immigration authorities, telling them to stay out of the city.
Some chanted in Spanish: “Ni una más deportación!” Not one more deportation. “Latinos unidos jamás serán vencidos.” Latinos united will never be defeated.
Most flags waving in the wind were from Mexico, though many represented other Latin American countries. Volunteers walked around, some with clipboards to help attendees register to vote, others distributing flyers with information about immigration rights.
Daniela García, one of the volunteers, was handing out the latter, her 8-year-old daughter in tow. When she was a teenager in the early 2000s, García traveled with her mother from their hometown of Tijuana, Mexico, to California. They did so legally with valid visas, she said, which they then overstayed.
García obtained her citizenship in 2016. But despite their new legal status, as President Donald Trump’s first term kicked off, García’s then-7-year-old son would constantly worry about being detained and deported.
This time around, her 8-year-old daughter is the one worrying.
“We keep explaining to her that she’s fine; she’s a citizen,” García said.
Still, the little girl asks: “What about my friends?”
Rodríguez, who attended the parade with her wife and two kids, is an elementary school principal in Rogers Park — one of the city’s most diverse neighborhoods. Her school alone, she said, represents 40 languages and 20 dialects.
She said the threat of immigration enforcement has caused panic and fear among families.
“Which, I think, is the purpose,” Rodríguez said.
After an initial immigration crackdown in Chicago around January, enrollment declined in her school, and students began missing classes as parent involvement decreased. The situation got better in March, Rodríguez said, as enforcement activity tapered off. Now, people are once again afraid and nervous.
And she is, too. If federal immigration agents had raided the parade Sunday, Rodríguez said, they had planned for her wife — who is light-skinned — to take off with the kids to ensure their safety.
While the whole family has proper legal documents, she said, the color of her skin makes her feel like a possible target.
“At the end of the day, they’re looking for brown people,” she said.
A sense of pride for Mexican nationality and Hispanic heritage at times intertwined with displays of American patriotism. Some flags also sported stars and stripes, red, white and blue.
Three men rode on horseback, kicking off the parade from the iconic Little Village arch as they hoisted a Mexican flag, a Chicago flag and a U.S. flag. Later, as the first floats reached the end of the route, where 26th Street meets Kostner Avenue, an emcee shouted: “Que viva México! Y que vivan los Estados Unidos de América!” Long live Mexico! Long live the United States of America!