Julia, a 19-year-old born in the US, and her parents, undocumented immigrants from Mexico, enjoyed attending the Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration each year in Henderson, Kentucky, and selling aguas frescas, horchatas and a sweet bread traditionally eaten on the Mexican holiday.
asserted
Julia → bear → holiday
Last year, her family also built an ofrenda, or altar, featuring flowers and a violin, to honor her grandfather, who played the instrument and died in 2023 in Mexico.
asserted
who → build → Mexico
Unfortunately, organizers of the event in the town of 27,000 people canceled the party in 2025 because of concerns that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would use it as an opportunity to arrest undocumented immigrants.
asserted
Immigration → cancel → immigrants
“The political climate around immigration was so difficult and controversial that we got a clear message from folks in the Latino community here” that “they would not come”, said Brad Schneider, the judge/executive of Henderson county, who co-founded the event.
asserted
who → get → event
This year, however, Henderson is among the US cities reviving public Day of the Dead celebrations after canceling last year.
asserted
Henderson → revive → celebrations
Meanwhile, some places that held events last year canceled because, in at least one case, of fears of ICE ramping up raids in their area.
asserted
ICE → hold → area
The decisions over whether to hold a public Day of the Dead celebration reveal that while in some parts of the country, ICE does not incite the same worries as a year ago, the agency’s ongoing deportation efforts still unnerve many Latino immigrants across the US, and that is having a serious impact on community life.
asserted
that → hold → life
“I trust in the leadership that we have in our community, and if they believe it’s safe to have it, then I trust in that,” said Julia, who is studying political science and secondary education in college.
asserted
who → trust → college
Día de los Muertos, which takes place over several days, dates back thousands of years to the Aztecs, who believed that death was just part of a larger cycle of existence.
asserted
death → take → existence
The popular belief is that during the holiday, souls of the deceased can return to earth to be with their loved ones.
asserted
souls → decease → ones
As such, the living build ofrendas to welcome their spirits.
asserted
living → live → spirits
Millions attend celebrations in Mexico.
asserted
Millions → attend → Mexico
In the United States, cities like Los Angeles and San Antonio have held Day of the Dead celebrations that can attract tens of thousands of people.
asserted
that → hold → people
Schneider grew up in Arizona and California and developed deep connections to Latino people, food and culture.
asserted
Schneider → grow → people
Almost 40 years ago, he moved to Henderson.
asserted
he → move → Henderson
He has since watched as more Latinos moved to the area; they now comprise about 5% of the local population, according to the Census Bureau.
uncertain
they → watch → Bureau
After watching the 2015 James Bond film Spectre, which opens at a Day of the Dead celebration in Mexico City, Schneider asked Abraham Brown, owner of a Mexican restaurant in nearby Evansville, Indiana, whether they could hold such a celebration in Henderson.
Brown told him it was a great idea.
uncertain
it → watch → him
In 2019, they held the inaugural event.
asserted
they → hold → event
The celebration has included mariachi bands, Mexican food, a faux graveyard where people decorate headstones, and face-painting.
asserted
people → include → headstones
“It was a huge hit, much to our surprise,” Schneider said.
asserted
Schneider → say → surprise
But in 2025, local Latinos were “reading the newspaper reports and media accounts, children were separated from adults, and that was all very scary for people”, Schneider said.
asserted
Schneider → read → people
This year, he and Brown again asked people at Mexican groceries and restaurants about holding a celebration, and “the overwhelming response was that they wanted it”, Schneider said.
asserted
Schneider → ask → it
In Long Beach, California, the local government also decided to hold its festival after canceling last year because of concerns over immigration enforcement.
asserted
government → decide → enforcement
“I think that it’s important to continue those traditions and be able to celebrate with family and friends, and so I wanted to give our city the opportunity to continue to do that,” city council member Mary Zendejas, who requested that organizers cancel the event in 2025, told the Long Beach Post.
asserted
organizers → think → Post
In Worcester, Massachusetts, organizers canceled the city’s celebration last year.
asserted
organizers → cancel → celebration
Instead, they held smaller events and did not announce them on social media.
asserted
they → hold → media
“It had to be at a private location where not anyone could walk in, that wasn’t open to the general public, and we had to make sure that parking was close to the door, so people didn’t have to walk really far to get to their car,” said Raquel Castro, who runs the city’s division of youth opportunities and co-founded Casita Cultura Latina, which organizes the city’s Día de los Muertos celebration.
uncertain
which → have → celebration
This year, they decided to again hold a public gathering on 24 October at a local park with a mariachi band, a DJ and art in honor of this year’s theme, “Amor como resiliencia”, which means: “Love as resilience.”
asserted
which → decide → resilience
About 2,000 people attended, Castro said.
asserted
Castro → attend → ?
“It’s not easy to exist and to still bring joy in dark times, and we thought it was really important to do so,” said Castro, who immigrated from Ecuador, of why they held the party.
asserted
they → ’ → party
While some Latino residents have become more comfortable coming to public events, ICE has not gone anywhere.
asserted
ICE → become → events
While the agency has avoided some of the negative publicity it generated during its operation in late 2025 and early 2026 in Minneapolis, its monthly arrests and detentions actually increased in June and July, according to the Deportation Data Project.
uncertain
arrests → avoid → Project
In San Antonio, ICE recently signed leases worth $51m for two office spaces and is preparing to open a detention center that can house 1,500 people per day, the San Antonio Express-News reported.
asserted
News → sign → day
Amid the effort to expand its footprint, a local retailer, Planet K, canceled its annual Día de los Muertos celebration, which it started holding 20 years ago.
asserted
it → expand → which
“This decision was not made lightly,” organizers posted on Facebook.
asserted
organizers → make → Facebook
“We refuse to bring people together under Ice terrorism.”
asserted
We → refuse → terrorism
Marina Alderete Gavito, a San Antonio city council member, particularly enjoyed the event’s fireworks show and said it’s “just really sad that we are seeing these traditions” taken “away from us”.
asserted
traditions → enjoy → us
Organizers also canceled Day of the Dead celebrations in Asbury Park, New Jersey, and Fresno, California.
asserted
Organizers → cancel → Park
The Guardian asked ICE’s public affairs office whether the agency planned to send officers to Day of the Dead celebrations but did not receive a response.
asserted
agency → ask → response
ICE has also appeared in Henderson.
asserted
ICE → appear → Henderson
…and 8 more, not listed.
The Aporia
