A vigil was held at Columbus Circle Monday night mourning people advocates say died in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody or were killed by immigration agents as enforcement ramps up.

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A vigil was held at Columbus Circle Monday night mourning people advocates say died in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody or were killed by immigration agents as enforcement ramps up

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has defended the actions of ICE agents, in the wake of the shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis

City Council Speaker Julie Menin held an emergency news conference after learning the staffer was detained at an immigration appointment in Nassau County

Faith leaders, calling it a “moral witness to democracy,” read names of the dead and demanded federal agents leave the city.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has defended the actions of ICE agents in the wake of the shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis.

“We want to be clear about who we are as New Yorkers. We are stronger together always,” Bishop Matthew Heyd of Episcopal Diocese of New York said.

That message hit harder after ICE took a City Council employee into custody Monday afternoon on Long Island.

“I think what has happened here is wholly and completely unconscionable,” City Council Speaker Julie Menin said.

Menin held an emergency news conference after learning the staffer was detained at an immigration appointment in Nassau County.

“He is here lawfully until October of 2026. He is getting no due process,” Rep. Dan Goldman said. They say the unnamed employee is authorized to be in the country, and they’re pushing for his release while trying to reach his immigration attorney.

“We’re calling on the Department of Homeland Security to release this individual,” President and CEO of New York Immigration Coalition Murad Awawdeh said.

Advocates say the detention sends a chilling message that even routine appointments could end in custody.

At the vigil, people say this is why they keep showing up: to pray, protest and stand with immigrant neighbors.

“We decided to come out, [to] show a little solidarity. We were really confused and upset with the direction our country is going in,” Queens resident Bonnie Harper said.

NY1 reached out to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for comment regarding the arrest of the City Council staff member, but has not heard back.