Montgomery County officials have canceled the second annual Hispanic Heritage Festival because participants are afraid Immigration and Customs Enforcement will round them up.

Instead, elementary schools in the Wheaton area will be able to apply for $2,000 grants sponsored by the Wheaton Arts and Entertainment District and the Wheaton Urban District.

The money can be spent on Hispanic cultural programming during the 2025-26 school year, county officials said in a release.

Performers for programs funded by the grants must be Hispanic and their performances must “convey elements of Hispanic culture,” officials said.

The festival was scheduled to be held in Wheaton on Oct. 12, according to WTTG-TV.

“We didn’t think that a festival at this time was the best medium, due to growing fears and concerns of federal immigration enforcement. The fear in the community was palpable,” Montgomery County Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Luisa Cardona told WTOP-FM.

A Salvadoran cultural festival, originally slated for Gaithersburg this month to coincide with El Salvador’s Independence Day was also canceled over similar concerns.

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, a Democrat, said in a news release that “it is a sad reality that some of our neighbors are hesitant to attend the kinds of festive gatherings that should bring us together. That will not deter us from celebrating and honoring our Hispanic and Latino residents, whose presence enriches our county in so many ways.”

Not all county officials agree with the cancellation.

“I was shocked when I heard that the county executive canceled that Hispanic Heritage Month festival in my district for no reason,” county council member Natali Fani-Gonzalez, a Democrat whose district includes Wheaton, told WTOP-FM, 

Ms. Fani-Gonzalez, who originally hails from Venezuela, added that “hiding and canceling things is not the way to go.”

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.