Latin music is not only popular — it’s big business. But these artists are increasingly having their live performances canceled as the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts increase.

Las Vegas is already seeing a decline in tourism. September is typically a big draw for top Latino artists. Last September, there were nearly 3.5 million tourists, more than half from Mexico. The Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority expects far fewer this year, however.

The Tejano Takeover Festival has been held in Las Vegas every summer, but ticket sales were down around 10% this year.

“The whole industry of the Spanish-dominant music and entertainment is hurting,” said festival producer David Chavez.

That might be in part because of economic uncertainty, he said, but there’s also been a lot of anxiety around immigration enforcement.

Even though Tejano performers and fans are predominantly bilingual Americans, he said that before the festival, the venue, Westgate, directly asked him: “‘Do you really want us to draw attention that you're going to be having a big Hispanic event?’ We said, ‘Of course. So guess what, you’re gonna see Vegas Tejano Takeover here at Westgate.”

Chavez said the Westgate told him the venue has the right to deny ICE entry since it is private property. But immigration enforcement is affecting fans and Spanish-language musicians alike.

Some are seeing visas denied. Top-selling global artists like Julion Alvarez and Peso Pluma couldn’t get visas this year. In 2023, Peso Pluma beat Taylor Swift as the most-streamed artist on YouTube.

The State Department told Marketplace it could not comment on specific visa cases due to record confidentiality.

In Chicago, the Michelada music festival had to replace its original headliner because of denied visas. So it hired another popular band, Grupo Firme.

But when that group’s visas were placed “under administrative review," Festival co-owner Miguel Torres had to cancel the event just weeks before opening.

“This cancellation has cost us millions of dollars,” he said.

And the ripple effects are big. “It affects local talent, local artists, it affects independent contractor companies, it affects our team members, it affects restaurants, small businesses,” Torres said.

There’s also a cultural loss that comes with canceled festivals and this sense of fear. Torres feels like this administration is purposefully denying visas of high-profile artists and festivals.

“We feel that this administration is targeting — is actively targeting — our people and our culture,” he said.

And, Torres added, targeting what’s arguably the most popular Latin music genre in the world right now.