Interfaith vigil held for those detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Donning pink bandanas and holding daisies—symbols of peace, resistance, and remembrance—the women-centered group began their vigil with the PC(USA)’s Prayer of Confession led by Rev. Linda Culbertson, General Presbyter of the Presbytery of the Pacific.

With guidance from Wendy Gist, Mission Advocate for Hunger, Poverty and Peacemaking at the Presbytery of San Gabriel, the vigil processed around the campus of the Federal Immigration Services building to the Metropolitan Detention Center where citizens and immigrants are being illegally detained and held.

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“All Americans must understand that immigrants have constitutional rights—our constitution applies to everyone on the land of the United States,” said Rev. Heidi Worthen Gamble, Mission Catalyst for the Presbytery of the Pacific and member of the Godmothers of the Disappeared planning team. “If we care about the constitution being protected, we should care about this. Because this is a test of whether or not we will care if the constitution is upheld or not.”

Worthen Gamble’s declaration echoes the policy set forth by the General Assembly of the PC(USA):

Any immigration policy must uphold full constitutional and civil rights for refugees and immigrants as well as U.S. citizens.  – The 202^nd General Assembly (1990), Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Along the route, vigil participants sang toward the detention center so their voices could be heard by those inside and through a litany led by Sister Rosa Manriquez, called upon the women and men who fought for justice in their time.

Before the vigil processed to its final location, a member of Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles offered a powerful and emotional testimony. With the help of Rev. Andy Schwiebert, the Immanuel member shared about her nephew, a college student, who was illegally detained by ICE during a raid of his recently opened small business in Los Angeles. With a mixture of grief and joy, she shared that after a series of legal actions, her nephew had been released the morning of the vigil.

As the group neared the entrance of the Metropolitan Detention Center, Rev. Margarita Reyes, pastor of La Iglesia Presbiteriana Puente de Esperanza, led a Spanish prayer and with a final brave act of compassion, vigil participants walked toward the federal facility’s entrance and offered their flowers to the ICE agent on guard. An appeal that reflects a core tenet of the Godmothers of the Disappeared—that the “Us vs. Them” narrative is rejected to remind everyone of the interconnectedness of our lives.

“Participating in the act of prayer allows people of faith to connect with God, connect with each other, and connect with God’s creation. The persistent witness of keeping vigil brings the community together in a collective act of prayer,” said Amanda Craft, Manager of Immigration Advocacy at the Interim Unified Agency of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

“The weekly vigil in Los Angeles is an example of how to engage intentionally with care and compassion. It also is an example of standing together in solidarity by standing in God’s light and mercy to witness to the disappearance of loved ones. The community stands in God’s light resisting harmful and violent policies of the U.S. government as these policies violate human and civil rights.”

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