By Rory McNelley, Education and Enrichment Coordinator

On Monday, Xavier students gathered on the Husman stage to hold a prayer service for victims of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and all immigrants across the country. The prayer service was organized and led by students. 

“We were appalled by the events in Minnesota, that is where our idea came from. And we thought it wouldn’t be long till it happened here, so we had to take action,” sophomore Philosophy, Politics, and the Public major event coordinator Claire Wagner said.

The prayer service consisted of students, guest speakers and testimonies about recent impacts of the protests and police killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, as well as prayers for people affected and detained by ICE.

 “It’s always so meaningful when we can come together in community with each other. Hearing stories on how ICE has impacted individuals on campus puts into perspective how we must take action in a world that is quickly changing,” first-year social work major Ben Spillman said. 

Wagner was inspired to hold the event by her grandpa who, 55 years ago, held a similar event in light of the Vietnam war.

 “My grandpa held a prayer service in Bellarmine Chapel where he and other students listed off the name of the 58,220 Americans killed in Vietnam. It took them over 24 hours of continuous reading. Now if I were to list off the names of each person currently being detained by ICE in our country, it would take over 37 hours,” Wagner said. 

Wagner chose to have student speakers instead of listing names because she viewed it as a more powerful representation of the impacts of the current situations within our country. With over five student speakers, the 120 attendees were able to understand the impact that ICE has on the community. 

Students brought signs protesting the actions of ICE and spread awareness about the unseen effects people are facing in our communities and across the country. 

“We had very little pushback from the university and we chose to hold a prayer service rather than a protest because it more fully aligned with our values as a Jesuit institution,” Wagner said. 

Xavier College Republicans released an official statement on their Instagram about ICE, shortly after the vigil.

“It is the official position of the College Republicans at Xavier University to stand with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in their mandate to protect the Homeland from these dangerous illegal aliens and to call on all groups who aim to obstruct our law enforcement from following this basic tenant of the Rule of Law to stand down and allow them to do their job without fear over their lives,” Xavier’s College Republicans stated in a statement on Instagram. 

The prayer service, which lasted about an hour, brought students, faculty and campus Jesuits together in prayer and community to remember those killed by ICE, pray for those detained and those separated from their families. 

“I hope to see more people from our campus body being advocates, because we all deserve inherent human dignity, and unfortunately right now, not everyone is granted this. We must continue to fight,” Spillman said.