SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – The South Dakota Hispanic Chamber of Commerce says it was a hard, but necessary decision to cancel the 3rd annual Latino Festival and Parade in Sioux Falls.
The news was announced 10 days before the festival was supposed to take place along 8th Street and the Levitt. The chamber says the decision comes after the rising anti-immigration sentiment across the country.
“We decided that we wouldn’t want to bring our most vulnerable community out on display for anything negative to happen,” President Selene Zamorano told KELOLAND News.
Vice President Ivan Romero says the deciding factor in canceling the festival this year was the anti-immigration sentiment getting closer to home.
“Operation Prairie Thunder went into effect and it did have an ICE component to it and that of course hits our local community,” Romero said in an interview with KELOLAND News.
Since Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden announced Operation Prairie Thunder, which includes assisting ICE agents in deporting immigrants, there’s been a mounting concern for safety among the Hispanic community, both Zamorano and Romero expressed.
“Now people have the power to question somebody about their legal status due to their language, speaking Spanish or the color of their skin, makes it even more hard for us to act like nothing’s happening,” Zamorano said.
Romero added that since Sioux Falls has become a hotspot for immigration patrols, Hispanic people from other parts of the state have begun to avoid Sioux Falls for fear of being racially profiled or stopped by police, despite any legal or documented status.
Rhoden’s office told KELOLAND News last week that additional patrols in the Sioux Falls area are planned for the coming months.
“People from around the area who come to enjoy the festival and just on a daily basis, come down to Sioux Falls for shopping and leisure, are staying away,” Romero said.
Zamorano says the fears have caused Hispanic business owners to struggle.
“At this moment, to be honest, business has been very slow for the Latino community,” she said. “No. 1, people are scared and No. 2, people say, ‘Hey, we’re not gonna support this community because of my personal opinion.’’
Both members of the chamber say the decision to cancel the festival is to keep all members of the Hispanic community safe, and said even people who were born in the U.S. or have legal documentation to be in the country are being targeted.
“A lot of people think that ICE is supposedly only targeting undocumented people and they say that if you’re documented, then you have nothing to worry about. That’s not necessarily the case,” Romero explained.
Romero himself was born in the U.S., but says he’s still personally worried about being profiled or questioned about his immigration status.
“I am still concerned, and I have to double-check my pockets to make sure that I always carry my ID with me, even if I’m not driving. I have to be mindful of that because in case that we do get stopped by an agent, I wanna be able to present my documents, whereas before that wasn’t the case. You could just freely go to the store and not have to worry about that sort of stuff.”
Zamorano hopes the negative rhetoric around immigration will die down and people in the community can eventually feel safe again, but she knows the hard conversations need to continue.
“Knowledge is power and if there’s more people talking about what’s going on whether they have a decision or their own opinion, it’s always good to hear,” she said. “That’s the only way we’re gonna be able to understand each other, is by hearing us. Canceling the Latino Festival and Parade this year has definitely sparked up a lot of conversation.”
