Candlelight vigil on Monroe County courthouse lawn protests ICE detentions, Trump administration sanctuary list

Saturday evening (May 31), on the grounds of the historic Monroe County courthouse lawn, around 60 people gathered for a candlelight vigil, and to hear remarks from faith leaders and others about a trend that includes more than 4,000 people who have recently been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or other law enforcement agencies working with ICE.

The backdrop to the gathering included an executive order from U.S. President Donald Trump, issued on April 28, which said that within 30 days of the order, the U.S. Attorney General, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, had to publish a list of States and local jurisdictions that obstruct the enforcement of federal immigration laws, which are so-called sanctuary jurisdictions.

The publication of the list was announced in a news release on May 29. The list itself was published at a separate URL. That URL got disconnected sometime Saturday evening (May 31), but it is available on the WayBack Machine.

Monroe County government is included on the list, but the city of Bloomington is not. Monroe County is the only jurisdiction in the entire state of Indiana that appears on the list. That stems from a dispute between Indiana attorney general Todd Rokita and Monroe County sheriff Ruben Marté about the sheriff's policy on handling the immigration status of detainees. Rokita filed a lawsuit against Marté, which alleges that the sheriff's policy for handling the immigration status of detainees does not follow state law. Marté contends his policy does conform with state law. Final briefs have been filed, and a ruling from the court is expected in the coming days or weeks.

Related to the list, one speaker on Saturday night quoted a statement from Monroe County commissioner Jody Madeira, given to the Herald-Times and included in a news release on Sunday (June 1) from all commissioners: "This action by DHS has nothing to do with public safety and everything to do with targeting and attempting to criminalize an entire group of people that has been singled out on false and xenophobic basis, like they are dangerous or violent."

Commissioner Julie Thomas is quoted in the news release saying, "As the daughter of an immigrant, this so-called 'sanctuary jurisdictions list' is nothing more than political theater by a President who views all immigrants, regardless of legal status, as villains."

Commissioner Lee Jones is quoted in the news release saying, "The President outrageously equated a lack of local capitulation to draconian federal immigration policies with a 'lawless insurrection.' Local governments know how to keep their communities safe—and Monroe County will continue to promote the health and safety of its residents through inclusive local policies, even when the federal government fails."

Erin Aquino, who is Exodus Refugee's resettlement director, told those who were gathered on Saturday night, "No one goes through more background checks, screenings or interviews as a refugee. They're highly vetted by every major federal agency, including the State Department and Homeland Security, and they wait years, sometimes more than a decade, to get here."

Aquino continued, "Our office also served immigrants with temporary protected status or humanitarian parole, including Afghans, Cubans, Haitians, Venezuelans, Nicaraguans and Ukrainians. These are people who did everything right, the right way to get to the United States, as many say, but now they're living in constant fear of ice and deportation." Aquino added, "The Trump administration claims these are illegal statuses. Again, no human being is illegal, and these statuses are legal."

Also addressing Saturday night's gathering was lead minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Bloomington, Susan Frederick-Gray. She talked about the nature of prayer: "Now, I don't know how prayer works. … But I do know that prayer strengthens our spirits. I know that prayer renews our courage, that prayer reminds us of what is true and beautiful and good within humanity, and we know that love is stronger than fear, that love casts out fear."

Frederick-Gray continued, "And in this political climate where we are being told to be afraid of our neighbors and afraid of immigrants and afraid of each other, we have to push back with love. When we the people are unwilling to cower, when we refuse to act out of fear, but act with courage, we will win." She added, "This will be a long fight, but we must keep up our courage and our energy for the fight. We must persist until everyone who has been disappeared is returned."

A point of emphasis for a speaker from the Bloomington Alliance for Immigrant Rights was a number to call if someone is being detained by ICE—the National Lawyers Guild hotline at 212-679-2811.

Saturday's event was organized by the 50501 Movement.