By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
With the lingering threat of mass deportations by ICE, leaders of the local Latino community are preparing for the annual event celebrating their heritage.
“We want to celebrate, but how do we celebrate when we’re afraid?” asked Lucia Myers, executive director of La Conexion in Bowling Green.
This Oct. 10 will be the 13th year for people of this region to acknowledge Hispanic Heritage Month with the Latino Heritage Fiesta. The annual event brings together people from Latin countries and all others who want to share in the celebration.
For years, crowds have gathered at the Wood County Fairgrounds for authentic Latino food, traditional dances, and candy-filled pinatas. But last year, the attendance plunged as many people with Hispanic backgrounds were afraid to attend. The same was seen with English language classes, with people too frightened to go to classes.
ICE raids, sweeping up people with brown skin across the nation and sending them to detention centers or deporting them, has had a chilling effect on such gatherings.
Myers knows the same ICE shadow hangs over the celebration this year. But as an optimist, she is hoping more people feel comfortable coming together.
“My hope is we can bring in more people to be able to celebrate together,” she said Wednesday evening during a talk at First Presbyterian Church in Bowling Green, which hosts space for La Conexion offices and classes.
Pastor Jeff Schooley noted the palpable change in the event last year, when many people of Latino heritage were too fearful to come together in one place to honor their cultures. Far more white people attended the festival than Latino folks.
Myers is hopeful that people of all colors and nationalities feel comfortable attending the fiesta this year on Oct. 10, from 7 to 11 p.m.
“There is an underlying sense of hope,” she said. “Change is in the air. I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about it.”
The Latino Heritage Fiesta will again be held in the Junior Fair Building on the county fairgrounds. All are welcome to feast on traditional food, learn Latino dances, and listen to music from Meche Trejo Band and DJ Juanio. For the first time, an entry fee will be charged, with $10 for adults, $15 for couples, and free for children 12 and younger.
“We want to celebrate everyone,” Myers said.
Some other Latino heritage celebrations in the region have been canceled due to the lingering threat to immigrants. But that wasn’t a message that local leaders wanted to send.
“That would be telling people there’s no place for us to be,” Myers said during last year’s event. “We wanted to create a space for people to be heard and be comfortable.”
While U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests have gone quiet in the last few months, ICE reported arresting more than 50,000 people in August.
According to the Associated Press, the spike in ICE arrests shows that the administration has continued to advance its mass deportations agenda despite a shift in approach earlier this year from high-profile operations in large American cities that sparked a public outcry to arrests that have garnered less attention but have nonetheless been disruptive.
ICE has increasingly relied on state and local law enforcement partners who are assuming immigration enforcement duties. The administration has often said its immigration enforcement operations target people who have committed horrific crimes in the U.S. and as a way to make the country safer.
But the data gathered by AP shows that more than half of those arrested in July had not been convicted of any crimes and were not facing any criminal charges. Less than a quarter of those arrested had been convicted of any type of crime.
While ICE is partnering with jails and local law enforcement entities, that is not the case in Wood County. Wood County Sheriff Mark Wasyslyshyn reported last week that he has not been approached by ICE about housing immigrants in the local jail. Wasylyshyn has said in the past that he would not open the jail to ICE arrests. And Bowling Green Deputy Police Chief Adam Skaff said that BGPD has not been asked to assist ICE. Skaff has also stated in the past that BGPD enforces city and state laws, not ICE’s.
La Conexion’s goal is to establish and nurture connections among Latinos and the community at large, strengthen and promote Latino identity, and be a resource for community needs. The official statement also recognizes the organization’s work to increase awareness on diversity and social justice issues for low income and minority populations.
