For years, the Festival Independencia de México on Lake Street has been a vibrant, bustling celebration of Mexican life in the Twin Cities and a boon for many of the street’s independent businesses.
This year, however, that was not as much the case.
Multiple sources said crowds at last Sunday’s festival in Minneapolis, sponsored by local radio station El Rey and held two days prior to the official celebration of Mexican Independence Day on Tuesday, were noticeably thinner due to concerns about immigration enforcement.
According to community organizations, those concerns were exacerbated by the presence of security officers at the festival whose appearance in masks, vests and black attire seemed similar to that of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
Luis Argueta, director of communications for Unidos MN, said the crowd at the festival was “scarce.”
“It was actually really sad to see [for] a weekend that normally is very packed and very much a celebration,” Arugeta told Sahan Journal.
Erika Zurawski, a co-founder of Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC), said her organization was asked to provide security for the event, a signal, she said, of the level of fear people had in the buildup to the event.
“I do know people who personally were concerned and didn’t go, even though they normally do,” Zurawski said. “I heard reports from a lot of businesses that it’s a big moneymaker day for them, those businesses on Lake Street, [and] they didn’t even come close to what they normally make in any given year.”
But while some community members stayed away from the event for fear it would be a target for ICE, others who were at the event were alarmed by the appearance of security officers contracted by Sabri Properties, the real estate developer with considerable holdings on Lake Street that manages the event.
Chris Juhn, who photographed the event for Sahan Journal, said the officers some worried could have been affiliated with ICE were in fact there on behalf of Sabri Properties, wearing badges, and, in at least one case, was visibly armed.
A select number of Minneapolis Police Department officers were also present in accordance with city requirements for event permits, and at least one business on the street, Yusef Center, had their own security. But the Sabri Properties officers appeared to be the largest security presence at the festival and its accompanying parade.
Sabri Properties did not respond to a request for comment.
This is not the first time Sabri Properties has made headlines this year. Basim Sabri, who owns a number of properties on Lake Street, including Plaza Mexico, faced mortgage foreclosures on two properties in South Minneapolis earlier this year.
Sabri’s brother Hamoudi Sabri, who owns two separate property management companies in the region, also owns property on Lake Street and is currently being sued by the Minneapolis City Council following a shooting at a homeless encampment at one of those properties.
Even if there was no malicious intent behind how the security officers were outfitted Sunday, Zurawski said there are still lessons to be learned from how the situation unfolded.
“I do think that we have a long way to go when it comes to community security in terms of letting other organizations that provide that type of security understand and know that they have to be distinct from other forces,” Zurawski said.
Zurawski said that while MIRAC does not provide formal security for events, the organization has been asked to help monitor events in the past, and when they do, they instruct their members to dress in their regular clothes to make clear that they do not pose an immigration enforcement threat.
Minneapolis police Inspector Jose Gomez of the nearby Third Precinct was invited to speak at the event, and said he took time on stage to remind those assembled about the city of Minneapolis’ separation ordinance that prohibits city officials from asking about residents’ immigration status or using any knowledge of that status to enforce immigration law.
“I just want to make sure people know that when they see a Minneapolis police officer, they don’t have to be in fear of their status here,” Gomez said.
Given the ongoing threat of immigration enforcement, Zurawski wants to see local elected officials and police go further in protecting the safety of vulnerable residents and visitors. MIRAC has called on the city to adopt a new sanctuary ordinance that would strengthen the barrier between city law enforcement and federal immigration enforcement.
“One of the things that would make people feel more safe, or help people feel like they can come out to these festivals and go about their daily lives, would be if the city of Minneapolis — and specifically the mayor and the police — took up everything we’re asking for, which includes if the feds come in, their job is to help kick them out,” Zurawski said.
