By Claudia Amaro/PLANETA VENUS
Latino event cancellations have also reached Kansas. Fears of raids and hate crimes forced the cancellation of the Coffeyville Hispanic Celebration
The Coffeyville Hispanic Heritage Celebration planned for September in Coffeyville, Kansas, is one of the activities canceled due to the growing fear of the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and its potential impact on community safety.
This is one of many public events in communities across the United States that have been canceled by organizations and local leaders due to that fear. Festivals, celebrations, and even business activity have been affected by these decisions, impacting not only organizers but also participants and the communities in which these events take place.
A recent report from The Wall Street Journal highlights a wave of cancellations of events planned in Latino communities across the country, driven by fears of ICE raids. In large cities like Los Angeles and Chicago, communities are organizing to protect themselves and stay united despite the threats of deportation. To do this, they use both real-time technology and the participation of clergy who provide emotional support, material aid, and legal guidance.
Kansas, however, lacks a solid community infrastructure to support immigrant families on a large scale.
“Let them go celebrate in Mexico.”
The lack of support, clear information, and a local safety net has forced the cancellation of events like the celebration in Coffeyville, despite the growth and success achieved in the past three years.
For community leaders like Blanca López, an immigrant who arrived in Coffeyville from Mexico at the age of fourteen, the decision to cancel the Hispanic Celebration has been painful.
Coffeyville is a city located in Montgomery County, in the southeastern corner of Kansas, with a population of 8,826 according to the 2020 Census. As stated by a report from the University of Kansas, between 2010 and 2020, the Latino population increased by 30.9% in Montgomery County—growing from 5.20% of the county’s total population in 2010 to 7.67% in 2020. López has seen a notable increase in the Latino population in recent years and has taken on the responsibility of serving that community in numerous ways: from interpreting in local institutions to connecting families with resources. And in 2022, López began organizing the Coffeyville Hispanic Heritage Celebration.
“When I first arrived in the United States, I always felt like I did not belong anywhere, neither in school nor in the community, for several reasons. I wanted to create that space of belonging,” she shared.
That desire to make Coffeyville a more inclusive and welcoming city led her to build relationships with local leaders who supported her vision of creating an annual event.
“For me, creating the Coffeyville Hispanic Heritage Celebration was a mix of things: celebrating who we are, honoring our roots and where we come from, while also showing respect for our new home.”
Perhaps that is why the cancellation of the 2025 event is so painful for her.
“This year there have been several comments and posts on social media deliberately attacking the Hispanic community,” said López, referring to comments from Facebook groups related to the Coffeyville community. “Comments like: ‘Let them go celebrate in Mexico’ or ‘I hope ICE comes to celebrate with them.’”
López said that the community’s greatest fear is that public events like this could become targets for hate crimes, and she does not want to feel responsible if something goes wrong.
“It doesn’t hurt me so much that we have to cancel the event. What hurts are the reasons why we have to cancel it. That’s what has affected me the most,” she expressed.
Still, López remains hopeful for the future. She believes this pause can provide time to reflect, plan, and build on stronger foundations: “We have the opportunity to create a plan where we can continue doing what we’ve been doing, but at the same time prepare or create another plan for everyone’s safety.”
When she made the decision to cancel the event, López published a message on social media that she prefers not to recall in detail because writing it caused her pain, and she said it could bring her to tears. But she has a message for the community in Coffeyville—one she said comes from her desire for unity:
“I hope that compassion and empathy are the main guides when we interact with someone who doesn’t look like us. I think we all have our own problems that maybe not everyone in the community is aware of. We should focus less on our differences and more on what we have in common,” she concluded.
Photos of past events. Taken from the Coffeyville Hispanic Heritage Celebration Facebook page:
This article was republished here with the permission of: Planeta Venus