Latino groups bow out of Vallejo July 4 festivities fearing ICE and racism

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VALLEJO — As the federal government conducts a national crackdown on immigration, Independence Day festivities in Vallejo are expected to be more muted this year. Latino groups have been reluctant to participate, fearing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and an uptick in racism directed at their community.

Solano AIDS Coalition President Mario Saucedo has presented the most important Latino celebrations in Vallejo for over two decades, including Fiestas Patrias in September and Dia de los Muertos in November, as well as leading a contingent of Latino organizations that walked in the Fourth of July parade. 

This year, though, neither he nor the organizations in his contingent will participate.

Even though City Manager Andrew Murray published a Spanish-language press release in February asserting that Vallejo police don’t collect information on immigration status and will not facilitate detentions based on it, fear of ICE has gripped Vallejo’s Latino community more than ever in the last few weeks due to recent raids and sightings.

Saucedo said he saw ICE agents two and half weeks ago close to Walmart on Highway 39. They had the ICE logo on their clothes and a white unmarked van. A week ago he saw two black SUVs on Tennessee Street. The officers inside had the ICE logo on their clothes.

Some of the Latinos who belong to the organizations on Saucedo’s contingent are undocumented. “They are people that have small businesses and contribute to the economy in Vallejo, and they have kids who are American citizens,” Saucedo said. “They are not criminals. They are just working parents with kids.”

The recent ICE sightings in Vallejo come on the heels of raids in Los Angeles that led to large protests and the Trump Administration activating the National Guard to confront protesters. The tense environment has led to hesitation not only from immigrants but U.S. citizens of Latino descent who fear discrimination.

Saucedo was planning a big caravan when he got a call from Jeriann Guzman, the president and co-founder of Solano Serenity Center, a nonprofit that offers “a safe haven for those who identify as LGBTQIA2S+.” Guzman told him that they wouldn’t walk in the parade.

“I didn’t want to do the Fourth of July celebration because it celebrates a nation that is divided,” Guzman said. Taking her American passport out of her satchel, she added, “We aren’t safe. I have to travel with this to show who I am in my own country. I am transgender, I am Mexican American, I am Native American, I am a veteran and I’m disabled. Everything this administration is targeting.”

Yuliana Herrera founded a ballet folklorico group which includes students from 4 to 15 years old. Her students were scheduled to participate in the parade and to dance at the festival but she canceled the parade and the performance “for a lot of reasons and a lot of fears,” she explained. 

“One of my fears is discrimination,” she said. “Right now it doesn’t matter if you are a citizen or not, simply your skin color. We have endured racism all of our lives, but with this president it has become stronger.”

Three years ago she posted a Mexican flag on her group’s Facebook page to announce their participation in the Fourth of July festival and she received some negative comments. With the current climate, she’s scared not only that ICE may show up at the event, but that some attendees may harass the kids.

“I don’t want to put them at risk with ICE or through a racist attack,” she said. “And honestly, what are the children going to celebrate when they are hunting us like animals? We are supposed to have rights, but where are those rights?”

A potential raid would probably not take the kids, but Herrera fears that ICE could take their parents and traumatize the children. During the last Solano County Fair, she also canceled their participation, but after receiving a call from the organizers begging her to reconsider, she quickly put together a troupe of 20 kids and performed some dances. 

“I went because the kids love to dance, and even more when it’s on a stage, but we went, we danced and we left,” she said. Throughout the performance she was anxious, looking over her shoulder, fearing a raid. Even when they are rehearsing now, fear is a constant companion. 

Saucedo has had a green card since 2005 and has received more than 75 proclamations and certificates from senators, congresspeople, mayors, and city managers for the work he does in the community. But he’s also scared. “I recently sent my papers and payment to become a citizen, but now I don’t want to go [to the appointment],” he said. “They are even deporting citizens! This is no way to live.”

Shelee Loughmiller, co-chair of the planning committee of the Vallejo Parade Association, has noticed the downturn in participation. “‘We don’t have as large of a horse contingent [charros] this year. Our parade entries are down over last year and we were very concerned that this would be the case,” she said. “We do hope that our community at large will feel safe showing up for the parade.” 

Guzman, on the other hand, said she is not afraid of ICE raids. Her grandmother came to the United States with Pancho Villa and her family has been in this country since 1913. “What I am afraid of,” she said, “is putting Mario, Yuliana and all these other people in harm’s way. I fear for Dia de los Muertos, Fiestas Patrias, Fiestas Primavera, the celebrations that bring our people together. I fear for those, because I don’t want anything happening to my people.”

Saucedo concurred. “The next event is Fiestas Patrias on September 13,” he said. “I am afraid of doing the festival. I hope it gets a little bit better, but if I have to cancel these events for the wellbeing of my community, I will.”