Susan Salinas arrived at City Hall on Saturday morning with a Mexican flag and a prayer that one day all people will feel welcome in her hometown.
“I’m not scared of ICE and I don’t know anybody in my circle who is scared of ICE,” said Salinas, a third-generation Texan and native Houstonian. “We’re celebrating our culture and our heritage. It’s a shame that more people didn’t show up.”
Fewer than a hundred spectators gathered along Bagby Street and the surrounding area to watch Houston’s League of United Latin American Citizens District 18 Freedom Parade, an alternative event scheduled after LULAC District VIII canceled its annual Cinco de Mayo festival due to “genuine, paralyzing fear that attending a high-profile public gathering could result in the irreversible separation of families.”
Although the spectators were few, more than 2,000 people registered to participate in Saturday’s parade, including Harris County judge hopefuls Annise Parker and Orlando Sanchez, several Houston City Council members, the Texas A&M University mariachi band and students from the Raul Yzaguirre Schools for Success.
The gathering was heavily criticized and boycotted by some who felt it could attract Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to harass and detain people. However, at Saturday’s event, there were no ICE agents in sight.
LULAC District VIII has hosted the Cinco de Mayo parade since 1994. It’s been canceled before, during the COVID-19 pandemic, but never because of immigration concerns. Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican army’s unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.
On Saturday, several Houston Police Department officers patrolled the area around City Hall as they always do during permitted special events. Immigration concerns have been voiced by hundreds of Houstonians at recent city council meetings. Last month, the council adopted a policy that would limit HPD’s interactions with ICE, mandating that traffic stops should end when a ticket or warning is issued rather than having officers wait for ICE agents to dispose of non-criminal immigration warrants.
Gov. Greg Abbott apparently didn’t like the ordinance and threatened to withdraw $114 million in public safety grants, alleging the new policy violated an agreement with the state and was therefore unlawful. In a 13-4 vote two weeks after the ordinance was approved, the council amended its policy to allow HPD to wait a “reasonable amount of time” for an officer to arrive when an immigration warrant is identified.
Critics say the amendment was a step backward and represents “bending the knees” to Abbott and President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration efforts.
At Saturday’s parade, however, the mood was not adversarial as Latin American residents celebrated their heritage. Organizers maintained that there was no data to support that a Cinco de Mayo parade would be a high-risk endeavor. Jesse Rodriguez, a longtime member of LULAC District 18, said he was disappointed that Houston’s many Latin American advocacy groups are divided over where and when to gather.
“They dropped the ball, and we picked it up,” he said, referencing District VIII’s cancellation of the annual parade. “A lot of people were confused. They tried to sabotage this and keep people away. I think it did keep some people away. It was important for us to be here to highlight our community groups, our culture and our talent.”
The city’s efforts to clarify its policy, adopt a new one, and then go back to what some say is worse than what was on the books in the first place just to appease the governor haven’t done much to provide peace of mind for the Latino community.
Council Member Alejandra Salinas, who crafted the immigration ordinance that ultimately got reversed, said at Saturday’s event, “We’re out here today to celebrate Latino culture, celebrate our history, celebrate everything we’ve done and celebrate where we’re going.”
Organizer Isidro Garza said he was pleased with the event. “For those who were here, it was worth every minute we spent planning this,” he said. “For those who missed it, it’s their loss.”
“This is a great day,” he added. “It instills pride in our youth. We live in a world of turmoil, particularly with the Hispanic community. Cinco de Mayo represents self-governance. We have to have a government from the bottom up, a government that is of the people, by the people and for the people.”
Those in attendance commented on the beautiful weather and the opportunity to freely celebrate their culture and history. After the parade concluded, Susan Salinas said her day of festivities was just getting started. “Now, we go to Ninfa’s,” she said.
