AUSTIN, Texas – Candles, music, and prayer filled Downtown Austin Wednesday night, all part of a vigil calling for migrant justice.
Local perspective:
People of all faiths and backgrounds across Austin gathered for one common goal: a call for the protection of migrant communities.
The Migration with Dignity Prayer Vigil brought dozens at St. David’s Episcopal Church Wednesday.
Attendees singing, holding signs, and lighting candles to advocate for migrant justice.
“What’s brought me out here tonight is that I am a voice for those that do not have a voice. There’s a lot of members in the community that can’t come out and express how they’re feeling,” said attendee Jose Sanchez.
The vigil put on by different religious congregations included migrants’ prayers, testimonies, and music to stand in solidarity with immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers.
“To gather together and pray for those who are caught up in the current enforcement practices of our immigration system and to tell their stories and to stand in solidarity with families and individuals who are experiencing fear, who are being separated,” said Hope Benko, Associate Rector, at St. David’s.
A ten-foot banner reading “protect migrants” was on display.
At the center of it all, a monarch butterfly, a symbol of migrant justice, dignity, and hope. A monarch butterfly was also being painted throughout the vigil.
“We remember those human migrants by thinking about the beautiful symbol of the butterflies and the way that the butterflies enrich our lives and that just as migrants enrich our life,” said Benko.
Attendees in Austin say they hope peaceful events like this one can help spark change in what they call an unjust immigration system.
“It could be so easy to say, it doesn’t matter to me, because none of my family members are personally affected by this. We need to stand alongside them and protect them in any way we can,” said Benko.
The group hopes to continue a series of solidarity vigils for the community to come together.
Big picture view:
The vigil took place across the street from the JJ Pickle Federal Building, which has been used for ICE detainment during the current Trump administration’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants.
Large anti-ICE protests have erupted around the country as a result of the crackdown.
Broadview, a Chicago suburb, has been the scene of numerous anti-ICE demonstrations several weeks in a row. Some demonstrations turned violent, resulting in multiple arrests.
ICE and Border Patrol deployed tear gas to disperse violent crowds in southeast Chicago Tuesday morning, even as city police confirmed the rioters were throwing objects at agents.
The Broadview mayor has issued a curfew for the protestors as a result and shrinking the area they are allowed to demonstrate.
The Source: Information in this report comes from reporting/interviews by FOX 7 Austin’s Jenna King.
