Days after numerous residents called for leaders to denounce ICE raids, the Whittier City Council announced it has cancelled its annual 4th of July Freedom Walk, set for the morning of Friday, July 4, at Palm Park.
The cancellation marks yet another one of several local Independence Day events called off in the wake of widespread federal immigration raids that began in Los Angeles County early this month.
“While celebrating our nation’s founding is very important to me and to Whittier residents, my colleagues and I also want to be sensitive to the recent feedback we’ve received from some community members asking that we pause this year’s Freedom Walk event,” said Mayor Joe Vinatieri.
The city’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular set for 5 p.m. Friday, at the city’s York Field will go on as scheduled.
Several speakers offered public comment at the June 24 Whittier City Council meeting, which was moved from City Hall to the Whittier Community Theater to accommodate the number of people making public comments about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids that ramped up in the city and elsewhere in Los Angeles County starting June 6.
U.S. Army combat veteran David Cortez, 37, said what is happening in the city where he was born and raised is wrong.
“Our neighbors, our friends, and in some cases, our family, they are being rounded up without notice and transparency with a level of intimidation that is beyond excessive,” Cortez said, decrying sweeps by masked, armed men and imploring city leaders to lead with compassion.
Numerous residents demanded Whittier declare itself a sanctuary city, joining Alhambra, La Puente, Baldwin Park, Pasadena and Los Angeles, in limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
One said holding the Freedom Walk, where veterans and Gold Star families are invited to join a crowd along the Greenway Trail at Palm Park, is tone-deaf.
Whittier resident Selena, 35, who requested her last name not be used because she has family who are undocumented, will not be attending the fireworks show like she did the past two years.
“I don’t feel morally right celebrating independence and freedom, while 56,000-plus individuals are held in detention,” she said.
The Fourth is a day to reflect on what it is to be American, she added, saying it is heart-breaking to see people afraid to go outside and her city representatives doing nothing “to show us they are on the right side of things.”
“I grew up loving this holiday, but this year, that’s all changed,” she said. “Our country is just to the same. What are we actually celebrating? The kidnapping, arrests and inhumane treatment of immigrants, U.S. citizens that are using their voice to speak up against ICE and the administration? 4th of July has lost its meaning for me.”
The federal immigration arrests have blanketed Southern California for weeks now, designed to fulfill President Donald Trump’s pledge of deporting the “worst of the worst” immigrants. And they’ve prompted protests.
Mayor Joe Vinatieri talks with Pack 588 color guard during Whittier’s annual July 4th Flag Raising Ceremony at Palm Park on Monday July, 2022. The flag ceremony features Cub Scout Pack 588 and the Rancho Starbuck Intermediate School Band. (Photo by Keith Durflinger, Contributing Photographer)In a statement to Fox News, Attorney General Pam Bondi blamed sanctuary policies for the recent violence surrounding the federal immigration raids in the Southland.
“Sanctuary policies were the driving cause of the violence, chaos, and attacks on law enforcement that Americans recently witnessed in Los Angeles,” she said. “Jurisdictions like Los Angeles that flout federal law by prioritizing illegal aliens over American citizens are undermining law enforcement at every level — it ends under President Trump.”
According to the federal government, then-candidate Trump campaigned and won the presidential election in 2024 “on a platform of deporting the millions of illegal immigrants the previous administration permitted, through its open borders policy, to enter the country unlawfully.
But advocates and local leaders say agents are also rounding up people who do not fit the “worst of the worst” mantra, instead apprehending people who are not hardened criminals without any kind of due process.
Nicole Ortiz, president of the Whittier Bar Association, implored the city council to find a solution to protect every resident’s right to due process. She also distributed red cards and offered information on “Know Your Rights” workshops for immigrants and their allies.
While community Independence Day celebrations in Duarte, Pasadena, La Mirada, Montebello, South Pasadena, and West Covina are still set to happen, others have been called off or postponed, including 4th of July events in Bell Gardens, Cudahy and Boyle Heights.
Los Angeles County’s Gloria Molina Grand Park Summer Block Party, scheduled for Friday at the downtown park, has been postponed to an unannounced later date out of an abundance of caution, organizers announced online.
“We know this is disappointing news. We are committed to bringing this beloved tradition back later this summer and will provide an unforgettable experience that uplifts L.A.’s resilience,” the Instagram announcement said.
Public summer events are on hold at Huntington Park, which announced Friday that movie screenings at its Freedom Park are postponed for the next 30 days, following “growing disruptions caused by increased ICE activity in the region.”
The city also cancelled a July 3 celebration citing safety concerns and the peace of mind of its community.
“Reports of unmarked vehicles and unidentified federal agents have created widespread anxiety, particularly among immigrant and mixed-status families,” the announcement stated. “Many residents have expressed fear and uncertainty, leading them to remain indoors, refrain from work, and withdraw from public life.”
Pico Rivera, where City Manager Steve Carmona spoke out after immigration raids in the city on June 17, is cancelling its Fourth of July celebration, but for different reasons. According to city spokesperson Robert Alaniz, El Rancho High School, where the fireworks show is usually staged, can’t be used because of the new artificial turf warranty restrictions. A city park considered next was also under construction.
“When enforcement efforts create fear or the appearance of profiling, they risk undermining the trust that is essential between residents and their local government,” Carmona said after ICE raids in the city on June 17. He added that the city is reviewing legal and policy options to protect residents and remains “firmly committed to protecting civil liberties, constitutional rights and the respectful treatment of all individuals under the law.”
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