Members of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) held a candlelight vigil Thursday, Oct. 1 to honor 67 people across the nation who died from U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions.
Bradley Keenan, Madison SDS’s president, said SDS decided to hold the vigil after hearing about ICE’s actions towards immigrant communities across the United States.
Around a dozen students attended the vigil, standing alongside a banner presenting the names of 67 victims honored that night and holding votive candles provided by SDS.
Keenan said the vigil aims to “keep these memories alive, and remind students that ICE is very much a threat to the country and Madison, and show that there is a group fighting to honor victims of ICE and fighting ICE on campus.”
SDS’s Outreach Chair Lizbeth de Jesus opened the vigil by speaking about SDS’s desire to honor ICE victims.
"We need to commemorate these lives,” she said to vigil participants. “We should remember that we, as the next generation, won’t stop fighting for justice.”
De Jesus then read out all 67 names on the banner, along with the cause of their deaths.
During the vigil, three students gave speeches, including Freshman Atticus Mayer.
One participant, Jenna Vincent, stated she does not think anyone should have the right to commit the violence that ICE has been inflicting.
“It is important to recognize everyone ICE has killed,” Vincent told The Daily Cardinal.
The vigil closed with a moment of silence to honor all those lost.
SDS highlighted victims Pierre Damas Bel, Mario David Coronado Juarez and Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, along with 64 others.
Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a 28-year-old Venezuelan delivery driver, was shot on Sept. 20 by an ICE agent in his car in Austin, Texas. Perez was charged with one count of allegedly assaulting a federal officer when trying to avoid arrest. He is now in a detention facility and has allegedly had medical care delayed or denied by ICE, only receiving surgery 11 days after being shot.
Mario David Coronado Juarez tried to escape an attempted traffic stop with ICE agents on Sept. 20, and crashed his vehicle into a tree, which killed him. Grand Rapids police are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claims Coronado Juarez was not the person they were trying to arrest.
Many of the victims passed away in ICE custody in detention centers, or as a result of ICE's actions. Among them was Pierre Damas Bel, a 20-year-old student from Ohio, who committed suicide on Aug. 31 after being ordered to use an ankle bracelet by ICE as a result of the loss of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian immigrants. The device impacted his life and led to feelings of “humiliation,” he wrote in an Instagram post prior to his death.
Currently, SDS has a sanctuary campus campaign, where students are fighting for protections against ICE activity for international and immigrant students.
“We have our sanctuary campus campaign, and we are fighting for it,” De Jesus said. “Showing up to our events shows to admin that we have this support.”
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