Day of the Dead vigil organized by the Tampa Immigrants Rights Committee at Centennial Park, Nov. 1. Photo by Daria Mironova/WMNF News.
Seventeen people gathered at Centennial Park in Ybor City on Sunday, Nov. 1, for a Día de los Muertos vigil honoring people who organizers say lost their lives because of ICE violence.
The Tampa Immigrants Rights Committee organized the gathering, combining the Day of the Dead tradition of remembrance with calls to end local law enforcement’s cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Participants chanted “Stand up, fight back” and “The people united will never be defeated.” They urged people to attend Tampa city meetings and contact city officials to advocate for immigrants’ rights.
Remembering people and their families
Erain Boxtha told WMNF that organizers wanted to keep the people being remembered from disappearing in a fast-moving news cycle.
“So Día de los Muertos remembers the dead,” Boxtha said. “It kind of goes back to a tradition of honoring them and making sure that they are not forgotten.”
Boxtha said the gathering also recognized the relationships each person left behind.
“These are not just stand-alone individuals. They have families. They have friends,” Boxtha said.
He wanted attendees to consider how closely those stories might resemble their own families’ experiences. The people represented at the vigil, he said, could remind someone of an uncle or cousin.
A message for local authorities
Yunqing Zheng, who goes by Yoon, said the committee chose Centennial Park partly because of its connection to Tampa’s immigrant history. Zheng pointed to a statue in the park commemorating immigrants who helped build Ybor City.
The event also offered a place to share concerns about local agencies’ involvement in federal immigration enforcement.
“People are not happy that local law enforcement, such as the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, are collaborating with ICE, collaborating with DHS in the ways that they are,” Zheng told WMNF.
With Election Day approaching, Zheng said people deserve representatives willing to advocate for their constituents.
“I think what we can see broadly across the country is people want representatives who are willing to put up a fight against whoever to protect their people,” Zheng said.
The Tampa Immigrants Rights Committee information desk. Photo by Daria Mironova/WMNF News.
A daughter speaks about her father
For attendee Lizett Chavez, the vigil held personal meaning. She told WMNF her father, Adelaido Chavez Mariano, had returned to his family after an August 2 traffic stop led to his arrest and eventual transfer to immigration detention.
Chavez said her father is back with his grandchildren but still faces a November 5 hearing in Tallahassee.
“We’re going to be right behind my father to show him that he’s not alone,” she said.
Chavez described her father as someone who helped neighbors, including motorists whose cars had broken down. She said the support her family received motivated her to speak up for others.
“We need people to go out to defend them,” she said.
Detention data
According to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, ICE held 65,765 people as of July 11, 2026. Of those detained, about 70% had no criminal convictions.
Florida ranks fifth among states in average daily ICE detainees during fiscal year 2026, with 3,934 people.
The vigil participants said community support and public pressure can help families affected by immigration detention make their voices heard.