Los Angeles cancels some July Fourth events amid deportation fears
Alicia Victoria LozanoThu, July 3, 2025 at 12:21 PM EDT
5 min read
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Police outside the federal building in Los Angeles on June 9 amid protests over immigration raids. (Tayfun Coskun / Anadolu via Getty Images file)
LOS ANGELES — Some Southern California communities are canceling or rescheduling July Fourth events as immigration arrests spread fear across the region.
But organizations that oppose President Donald Trump’s immigration policies plan to proceed with protests in downtown Los Angeles, where large demonstrations last month sometimes turned violent, prompting Trump to call in the state National Guard and U.S. Marines over the governor's objections.
The city said it would postpone its annual Fourth of July block party “in light of recent events affecting a portion of Downtown Los Angeles and the ongoing circumstances impacting the region.”
The event is held each year in Gloria Molina Grand Park near City Hall and several federal buildings, including one now being used as a detention center that has been a focal point for demonstrations against raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
During a “No Kings” march on June 14, protesters fled from tear gas, pepper spray and less-lethal munitions fired by law enforcement officers, and large crowds were pushed away from federal buildings and into Grand Park, where demonstrators scrambled up a small hill to safety.
More than 1,618 people in Los Angeles have been arrested by the federal government since it began clamping down on residents without citizenship last month, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Several 4th of July celebrations canceled in Los Angeles over fears of ICE raids
The threat of continued ICE raids has continued.
