Amid ICE threats, Brazil Fest postponed again

Citing fears of renewed federal immigration crackdowns across Massachusetts and rising anxiety within the Island immigrant community, organizers have decided to again postpone Brazil Fest, without another date under consideration. 

In the spring, the second annual Brazil Fest was postponed to October over fears of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); it had been scheduled for the week after ICE detained some 40 people on Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. 

Building Bridges Coalition, the event organizers, announced on Monday that the event would be postponed after conducting a poll through its mailing list of Island community members, with 40 percent of respondents saying that the celebration should go forward in October, while 60 percent believed it should not.

Many polled expressed reservations, considering recent news reports that Massachusetts would be the target of ICE raids, and that there was anxiety within the immigration community on the Vineyard.

“Advertising will draw ICE attention, and Brazilian attendance will be reluctant,” reads one comment that was submitted as part of the poll. “This is not the right time. Unsure when it will be during the next three years!” 

“Part of me wants to go ahead with the festival in October, but recent news shows that Massachusetts may be targeted again soon,” another reads. “In the big picture, we all need to stand up to these intimidation tactics.”

The first annual event was held in June 2024 at the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Hall, and drew inspiration from Festa Junina, a rural Brazilian festival that celebrates the end of harvest season. The coalition is a group of Island entities and individuals that hope to foster connection between different Island groups or populations, and to connect the Brazilian community with the rest of the Island.

Sara Barnes, executive director of M.V. Mediation, which is a founding sponsor of the coalition, said it’s frustrating that they have had to postpone the event twice now. She said that there is too much uncertainty and too many unknowns about if ICE would target the Island, and there’s a fear that advertising a celebration with “Brazil” in the name could draw Customs enforcement to the Island.

“We’ve worked so hard and spent so much time making strides in the community, and then it all gets delayed,” Barnes said, but added that they don’t want to give up, and will bring Brazil Fest back when the community is ready. Barnes said that some in the coalition worry that the festival would be postponed until the end of the Trump administration, but she said that while they haven’t come up with a new date yet, they are keeping their options open. In the meantime, they are looking to make inroads with the community through other initiatives.