Peaceful ICE protestors walking the parade route carrying signs that aligned with freedom and unity. / Photo by: Abigail Habib/IVN

By: Abigail Habib, Inland Valley News

Many cities in the Inland Empire held Fourth of July celebrations this past week, despite growing concerns about ICE raids across the country. These safety concerns caused cities such as Bell Gardens, Boyle Heights, and Downtown Los Angeles to cancel their events.

Independence Day festivities in the Inland Empire typically include parades, picnics, festivals, and fireworks. Cities that decided to hold events followed this tradition.

Ontario’s Fourth of July celebration consisted of their annual parade and “All-States Picnic,” while Upland, Rancho Cucamonga and other cities had fireworks shows later in the day Fontana and Chino Hills decided to hold celebrations in the days leading up to the 4th.

Most of these celebrations were abuzz with the usual holiday excitement despite increased fear over ICE raids that has led some residents to stay home, leaving some communities feeling emptier than usual.

However, celebrations were held as planned as cities like Rancho Cucamonga maintained that these events “mean a lot to the community, to gather like this” in a statement the city’s Public Information Officer Jennifer Camacho-Curtis made to the Inland Valley News.

Nearly 5,000 people attended Rancho Cucamonga’s  Fourth of July celebration held in LoanMart Field, home of the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, and many more attended celebrations throughout the rest of the Inland Empire.

Several of this year’s events were televised this year, including Rancho Cucamonga’s Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular” being chosen as a part of KCAL/CBS’s live coverage and Ontario’s Independence Day Parade which is usually broadcasted in whole or in part on the city’s YouTube channel.

While most events maintained a festive spirit, Ontario’s parade was interrupted by a peaceful protest that reflected national tensions.

About 20 minutes into the parade, approximately thirty protestors who had walking alongside the parade route made their way to the event’s center.

Carrying signs that said “No Kings, No Nazis,” “No One is Illegal on Stolen Land,” “We March in Peace For Those in Fear,” among other slogans, the protestors chanted about the genocide in Palestine and the ongoing immigration raids.

“We aren’t free until we’re all free,” one young woman who wished to remain anonymous said, hoping to “let elected officials know” that she doesn’t agree with “this.”