{"id":180074,"date":"2026-02-16T12:43:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T12:43:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/180074\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T12:43:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T12:43:14","slug":"multi-faith-prayer-vigils-held-outside-fresno-ice-facility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/180074\/","title":{"rendered":"Multi-faith prayer vigils held outside Fresno ICE facility"},"content":{"rendered":"

As immigration-related detentions rise in the Central Valley, a grassroots organization has been holding<\/a> regular prayer vigils outside the ICE processing center in downtown Fresno.<\/p>\n

Faith in the Valley, a multi-faith group focused on social justice and immigrant rights, said its prayer vigils provide a space for the community to come together.<\/p>\n

A sign at the speakers\u2019 podium at a prayer vigil earlier this month read, \u201cFamilies Are Sacred,\u201d and included symbols from multiple religious traditions. Another sign displayed the contact number for the Valley Watch Network, the rapid response hotline for ICE sightings run by Faith in the Valley.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen laws are written in order to take kids away from their parents, my siblings of faith, let us speak up,\u201d Simon Biasell, a pastor at the Big Red Church, said at the February vigil. \u201cLet us remember it is our responsibility to comfort the afflicted.\u201d<\/p>\n

The vigil followed heightened concern about immigration enforcement after the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents during an ICE surge in Minneapolis. Recent reports of immigrant detentions in the Fresno area \u2014 including during traffic stops and at ICE check-ins and green card appointments \u2014 have drawn widespread attention and increased turnout at community gatherings.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever has happened in Minnesota has awakened the consciousness of America and all of us,\u201d said Dr. Sudarshan Kapoor, a Fresno State professor emeritus and member of the local Hindu community who\u2019s lived in Fresno for six decades. \u201cIt\u2019s very sad that we have to be here this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a message posted on Instagram<\/a>, Faith in the Valley said that across many faith traditions, congregants are taught \u201cto protect the vulnerable and welcome the stranger,\u201d adding that a vigil \u201cis more than a gathering. It is a moral act and a refusal to look away.\u201d<\/p>\n

The organization also called for continued pressure on policymakers, urging people to demand accountability, advocate for the removal of ICE from local communities, and support those most affected by enforcement actions through accompaniment and sustained engagement.<\/p>\n

Faith in the Valley is planning on another multi-faith prayer vigil on March 4 from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. at the ICE processing center in Fresno.<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Marina Pe\u00f1a<\/a><\/p>\n

The Fresno Bee<\/p>\n

Marina Pe\u00f1a is the Latino communities reporter for The Bee. She earned a bachelor\u2019s in Political Economy and another one in Journalism from the University of Southern California. She\u2019s originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, but grew up in Los Angeles.\n <\/p>\n