Organizations planned Dia de los Muertos celebration without concern for ICE

Sugar skulls, candles, and marigolds lined D.C.’s waterfront as crowds gathered at its Dia de los Muertos celebration Saturday, while other cities chose to opt out.

Fiesta DC and the Mexican Cultural Institute assisted organizers but left planning for possible Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations to The Wharf, despite concerns over mass arrests of participants by organizers of other festivals nationwide.

Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, is a Mexican holiday celebrated Nov. 1 and 2 to honor deceased loved ones through altar and cemetery gatherings. Officials across the United States feared that those celebrating the holiday would be intentionally targeted by immigration enforcement.

As a result, some cities decided to cancel their Dia de los Muertos festivals, finding that the expansion of immigration enforcement could trigger mass arrests at the large gatherings.

Increased arrests recently in Long Beach, California, Decatur, Georgia and Santa Barbara, California caused officials to call off their Dia de los Muertos celebrations. Celebrations in the California cities of Senoma and Half Moon Bay were limited.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker pleaded in an October letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to pause immigration enforcement operations during Halloween weekend.

Noem, responding to Pritzker’s letter, declined.

“No, we’re absolutely not willing to put on pause any work that we will do to keep communities safe,” Noem said during a press conference.

Noem said operations would continue to bring “criminals” to justice, ensuring the safety of children during the holiday season.

The Wharf hosted the Dia de los Muertos celebration in partnership with Modelo, Fiesta DC, Giant, and the Mexican Cultural Institute. Fundación Elena and De Colores, nonprofits that work to improve the quality of life in Latino communities, also collaborated with The Wharf in organizing.

Services provided by the Mexican Cultural Institute included face painting, sugar skull decorating, and live music. Latin Celtic band La Unica, Sol y Rumba, DJ Danny, and singer Roberto Aparicio performed as residents enjoyed Mexican festivities.

Concerns over ICE attending the Saturday celebration had stemmed from extensive immigration enforcement operations in businesses, restaurants and bars across the D.C. metro area. Community churches and organizations have also had an uptick in their members or employees detained by ICE.

Organizations’ concern

In D.C., Daniela Madrid, event logistics member at the Mexican Cultural Institute, said that she did not hear any concerns about possible ICE arrests before planning the Saturday celebration.

She told The Wash the institution’s responsibilities included supplying traditional references from other Mexican festivals, highlighting that they were not the main planners for event specifics, such as security.

Madrid said that event planning was left up to The Wharf.

Wharf organizers did not respond to requests for comment.

Fiesta DC president Maria Patricia Corrales said that the structure of the event was directed by The Wharf, while her organization contributed altars and the locations of musicians. The organization also provided catrinas, the skeletal figures that have become a symbol of Día de Muertos celebrations.

Corrales told The Wash that despite public fears, the celebration was a success.

“The public might have expressed concerns,” Corrales said. “We did not come out with any issues.”

Corrales said that organizations cannot always wage the continuation of celebrations due to the presence of law enforcement.

“You can never expect something unexpected,” Corrales said. “We announce and hope people come. People want to come out and enjoy themselves.”

Participant safety

Waterfront resident Andrew Braner said that he felt safe attending the celebration as a regular. He said that he did think about the possibility of immigration enforcement coming to the event while attending.

“I live here and I feel safe all the time,” Braner said. “I was actually wondering if ICE would show up.”

Braner, who has celebrated past Dia de los Muertos in Mexico, said that though the D.C. celebration was “small beans” compared to those in the Latin country, it is still essential to curate in a diverse space.

“The world is [in D.C.] and there’s a lot of cultures here,” Braner said. “So, when you can celebrate Dia de los Muertos as a tradition, it just encourages the community to come together.”

Alex McKenna, an attendee at the Dia de Los Muertos celebration, said it’s important to continue cultural celebrations around the U.S. to avoid negative stereotyping.

He told The Wash this was his first time attending a Dia de los Muertos celebration.

“I think it shares with people something that’s important to them,” McKenna said. “And it’s important that we see other people for what’s important to them and understand that about others before we say something negative about it ourselves.”

McKenna said though he could not comment on the concerns of ICE conducting arrests at Dia de los Muertos celebrations, he felt safe when attending Saturday. He said he felt safe because of the celebration’s security presence.

“It’s amazing,” McKenna said. “I mean, the night is alive, and they’ve done such a great job, I think, of bringing everyone together and showing their culture.”