The vigil also served as a food drive.

AUSTIN, Texas — Austinites came together to mourn immigrants who have died in custody or during enforcement actions this year. 

Faith communities from across Austin hosted a vigil at St. David’s Episcopal Church on Wednesday night dedicated to eight people.

Geraldo Lunas Campos was a Cuban immigrant who died while in solitary confinement in ICE custody. Victor Manuel Diaz was a Nicaraguan man who was also detained by ICE immigration agents in Minnesota and reportedly died of suicide. Luis Beltran Yanez-Cruz was from Honduras, Parady La was from Cambodia and Heber Sanchaz Dominguez was from Mexico. They all died in ICE custody.

American citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed after encounters with immigration officers during protests in Minnesota.

On ICE’s website with the announcements about the deaths, officials added that medical care is given to people the moment they get to the detention center and throughout the entire time they’re there, which includes mental health screens. The statement added that no one at the detention center is denied care.

The church’s director of community engagement and advocacy, Dianne Hardy-Garcia, said she knows of people who carry extra paperwork and sometimes carry their identification cards out of fear of them getting confiscated. 

“We can do better than this, we’re not against immigration enforcement; we’re against reckless, random immigration enforcement. We don’t deserve this,” said Hardy-Garcia.

The vigils started last year. Wednesday’s was the first of the year. The church also collects food to donate to food banks.

“This is a crisis that’s being created in our community,” said Hardy-Garcia.

The vigil was followed by a community engagement workshop where the group gathered to talk about solutions they can offer for immigrants in Austin.