The annual Cinco de Mayo parade in Chicago has been canceled for 2025, according to organizers.
The Cermak Road Chamber of Commerce and Casa Puebla announced Thursday they decided to cancel the event.
Organizers said the decision was made based on the current climate between Chicago's Mexican community and the Trump administration.
"Our community is very frightened because of the raids and the threat that ICE has imposed on the families that work tirelessly to provide a better future for their kids," Casa Puebla Inc. and Cermak Road Chamber of Commerce Industry Inc. President Hector Escobar said in a statement Thursday.
The statement said the community has faced bullying and prosecution and are not participating in community activities.
"We feel there is nothing to celebrate," Escobar said in the statement.
The parade is typically filled with musical performances and festivities celebrating traditional Mexican culture.
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Usually held on Chicago's Southwest Side, it has faced a series of disruptions in the past. It wasn't held in 2018 or 2019, canceled due to what it called a "lack of support" from Ald. George Cardenas and conflicts of interest with another group, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
The COVID-19 pandemic also caused interruptions to the event, and it was rerouted in 2024 due to a shooting, with more than two-dozen people arrested in the aftermath of that incident.
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Organizers said they hope they can continue with the celebration in the future, but did not specify when.
Editor's Note: A previous version of this story cited the COVID pandemic as the reason for cancellation of the parade in 2018 and 2019. That has been corrected.
