Communities nationwide, including some in the DMV, held vigils Saturday for people killed during interactions with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
There have been two instances this month, one in Texas, the other in Maine.
A pack of people lined a busy intersection along Route 29 in Centreville, Virginia.
“I never thought I’d be an activist in my 60s,” said Rita Arsenault. “I just feel really strongly about how badly everyone is being treated and what’s been happening to our country.”
The roadside vigil is one of a handful that happened across the DMV Saturday.
Another was held in Hyattsville, Maryland. Rep. Glenn Ivey was in attendance.
“We want ICE out of our communities and we want ICE to stop brutalizing people across our country,” said Laura Usher with Indivisible Route 1 Corridor
In addition to the demonstrations honoring those across the country who have been killed during interactions with ICE recently, they also were to protest the apparent ICE activity that took place in the DMV area this week, resulting in a foot chase down the Clara Barton Parkway in Maryland and a pickup truck crashing into a home in Northern Virginia.
The demonstration in Centreville was put together by four different groups, some of them faith-based.
“I think that there is a moral obligation for us to speak up about our values,” said Rev. David Miller with the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax. “[…] These values are not being represented well by this administration and certainly not by the way that ICE has been acting in our communities.”
While this was a public vigil, one of the organizers of the event told News4 he held a private vigil recently for members of the community impacted by ICE activity.
“We’re here to tell the story of our community being terrorized and torn apart, families being separated, children living in fear,” said Julio Hernandez, the director of the Congregation Action Network.
The organization works with the faith community to support immigrants.
“We’re here to ask the community to be aware of what’s happening and also asking ICE to get out of our communities,” Hernandez said.
And that is exactly why Arsenault wanted to be a part of this effort — to inspire others to join in.
“There’s no use in all this division and hate,” she said.
News4 has reached out to ICE for comment about the demonstrations being held Saturday but has not yet heard back.
