Some communities in the Los Angeles region canceled events over fears of immigration raids, as Latinos grapple with how, and whether, to celebrate Independence Day.
To celebrate the Fourth of July, the Southern California city of Bell Gardens had planned to host an event at a park on Thursday with crafts, games and a laser light show instead of fireworks. Fliers had been distributed, contracts with vendors had been signed and a full ensemble band had been booked to play cumbia and salsa music.
Bell Gardens’ footprint is a small one — nearly 38,000 residents on a little more than two square miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. The city, where more than 96 percent of residents are Hispanic, is one of more than two dozen so-called Gateway Cities that make up a hub of largely Latino working-class communities.
In recent days, the mayor of Bell Gardens, Jorgel Chavez, started questioning whether to move forward with Thursday’s event.
Immigration raids by federal agents have become an almost daily occurrence in Southern California. About 2,000 immigrants have been arrested in the Los Angeles region since June 6, often by masked agents who have detained people at shopping-center parking lots, carwashes, bus stops, auto shops and other public places. The raids, many of them captured on videos posted to social media, have spread fear among residents who worry they could be targeted by agents regardless of their legal status or criminal record.
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