Vigil held in support of immigrants

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A vigil in support of Tulsa immigrants was held Monday evening in front of the David L. Moss Correctional Center. The vigil was organized by The New Sanctuary Network Tulsa, an organization that is opposed to mass deportations and seeks to sever ties between Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO).

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The site of the vigil was chosen to protest the TCSO’s participation in the 287(g) immigration detention program.

Over a hundred people came together at 7:00 p.m. on May 1st, listening to speakers such as Rabbi Marc Boone Fitzerman, one of the interdenominational group’s three principal leaders, who told the crowd, “We will not be silenced while our brothers are seized.”

Lutheran minister Rev. Alvaro Nova is another of The New Sanctuary Network’s leaders. Warning of the dangers misguided public policy and its potential to foment racism and violence, Nova addressed the predominantly Anglo crowd in Spanish, speaking with the assistance of an interpreter.

“Racism divides society and turns it into a battlefield,” Nova said. “Racism nourishes hatred which transforms into violence. Racism blinds us and makes us insensitive to the need of the other, and transforms paradise into the worst hell.”

“Violence generates fear, and fear separates us from one another by impoverishing the essence of human life,” Nova continued. “The only result of violence is death and poverty.”

“It is for this reason that today men and women of faith have gathered here to raise our voice to say that we cannot support in any way any social policy or proposal that feeds racism, violence, and poverty,” Nova concluded. “Today we are inviting the entire community of Tulsa to pray together and take action together to testify that we in Tulsa believe in a community that respects the rights of any individuals living in the city.”

Also present were members of Cosecha Tulsa, which had led an attempted boycott of local businesses Monday as part of the national “A Day Without Immigrants” effort.

Tulsa County Sheriff Vic Regalado said he supports the group’s right to hold a peaceful demonstration, and claims that his officers are only initiating ICE holds on those detained for serious crimes. Despite the vigil being held at the Tulsa county jail, there was no visible law enforcement presence and the event was conducted peacefully and without incident.

To date, Tulsa has not suffered from the large roundups of undocumented residents by ICE agents that have been seen in several cities across the U.S.

The vigil concluded with the lighting of candles and songs sung in Spanish and English. (La Semana)