For months, an interfaith group representing multiple religious traditions has been meeting for silent prayer in support of immigrant communities in Atlanta and our nation. We gather weekly, sing, stand/sit/kneel in prayer for ~15 min, and then pray together once more before departing. Some of us hold signs to show our support for people walking into their appointments at the ICE field office. We have felt safe, welcomed, been thanked by passers by, and even had children join us without incident. All are invited to attend!
WHAT: Interfaith silent prayer vigil
WHO: You! Local Atl clergy and people of faith
WHERE: 180 Ted Turner Drive Atlanta GA
WHEN: Wednesdays at 9a
Transportation:
– We meet at 180 Ted Turner Drive Atlanta GA
– MARTA: Garnett and Five Points Station are both a short walk
– Parking: There is paid street/lot parking nearby.
Questions: email colin.holtz@dhbc.org.
Why we do this
In February 2025, we found out that a member of our worshipping congregation, Jerome, had been placed in ICE detention. Jerome had fled to the United States because, as a young gay man, his life was at risk in Jamaica. Despite following all the rules and even relocating to NYC to get his case heard faster, a misunderstanding at the airport put him in ICE custody.
Over the next few months, he shared with us horrible first-hand accounts of how he and other ICE detainees were treated at the Stewart Center in Lumpkin, GA. He suffered physical and psychological abuse from guards and other inmates. The food was spoiled and had worms, and detainees who fell ill were denied prompt medical care. What he told us matches with reporting on conditions at other ICE detentions facilities and at facilities like the Atlanta Field Office, which were never designed to be warehousing human beings.
Jerome’s story had a bittersweet ending, or maybe a new beginning. Thanks to heroic outreach from the Uruguayan Methodist Church and that country’s government, he was eventually deported to Uruguay, a country where he does not speak the language but that welcomes immigrants and where he can live openly without fear for his life. Jerome is currently beginning his life anew in a new home for the second time, and we miss him desperately.
We pray weekly because we care about Jerome and all like him. We pray because he and his fellow immigrants face threats to their lives, health, wellbeing, dignity, and human rights on a daily basis. Individual members of our church hold diverse views on immigration policy, but we are united in standing in solidarity with those who suffer and are afraid as a result of unjust systems.