Oak Park has canceled its government-sponsored Hispanic Heritage Month festival over concerns that the event will draw attention from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Oak Park’s annual ¡Viva! Festival was set to be held on Oct. 11 on the south lawn at Village Hall, but was canceled as village officials and event volunteers considered “the ongoing presence of federal immigration agents throughout the region,” the village announced Monday, Sept. 22.
“The Village’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Office announced the decision after receiving thoughtful input from the committee of community volunteers who help coordinate the ¡Viva! Festival, which requested to put the safety, dignity and well-being of festival attendees, vendors and community members first,” the village said. “The Village remains committed to working with the committee to find alternative ways for the Village to honor Hispanic Heritage Month.”
The move comes after the village confirmed to Wednesday Journal last week that on Friday, Sept. 12 at approximately 10:45 a.m., multiple ICE agents were in the parking lot of Village Hall, where members of the Oak Park Police Department approached and briefly spoke with the ICE agents present in the parking lot. The federal agents left the property after about 15 minutes “without issue,” according to village staff.
The village announced Friday, Sept. 19 that the village was restricting access to the Village Hall parking lot as result of ICE’s presence.
“In order to ensure that the Village Hall parking lot is used only by Village of Oak Park staff and those community members requiring services from Village Hall, beginning today and until further notice, the two southern-most entrances into the Village Hall parking lot closest to Adams Street will be closed,” the village said in a statement. “The parking lot at 123 Madison St. is restricted for use only by vehicles of Village employees and persons with business within Village Hall. Permitted vehicles must use the northernmost entrances closest to Village Hall to both enter and exit the parking lot. The two remaining entrances may be monitored by security staff pursuant to instructions provided by village staff.”