Vigil shows support for those in custody
By Molly Montag Journal staff writer | Posted: Friday, May 16, 2008
SIOUX CITY -- Approximately 25 people gathered Thursday in Sioux City to pray for those affected by recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids on eastern Iowa.
The prayer vigil at First United Methodist Church in Sioux City included lighting 400 candles in memory of those arrested, singing songs and reading Bible passages reflecting on how God wants people to treat strangers.
The U.S. Attorney's Office announced 306 people taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers at a Monday raid at Agriprocessors Inc., in Postville, Iowa, will face criminal charges.
Initially, 389 people were arrested at the Waterloo-area meat-processing plant.
Vigil attendee Juana Villagran of Sioux City said, with translation from her daughter, that she and her friends think it is unfair for people to be sent back to Mexico when they only want to work for a better life.
"We want a better life for Mexicans because we all came here to work for a better life, for a better education for the kids and for a better life for our families in Mexico," Villagran said.
The Rev. Jim Perdue, pastor of the church's Hispanic ministries, said the prayer vigil was not a political event. Instead, it was a way to show support.
"We're going to remember the people whose lives have been shattered (and) families that have been divided," he said.
Villagran said she and her friends were worried not only about those who are in custody, but also the families that will be left behind if people are deported back to Mexico.
"When we heard about people getting sent back to Mexico we thought about the kids left here," she said. "And us, as mothers, we worry about our kids."
Although Perdue hasn't been able to talk to many Hispanic members of the congregation about the Postville raids, he said the 2006 raids at Swift and Company plants, had a chilling effect on his congregation.
"People were shaken up, because almost everybody in the community knew someone who got arrested," Perdue said. "Whenever this happens, it sends ripples across the United States."
The prayer vigil at First United Methodist Church in Sioux City included lighting 400 candles in memory of those arrested, singing songs and reading Bible passages reflecting on how God wants people to treat strangers.
The U.S. Attorney's Office announced 306 people taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers at a Monday raid at Agriprocessors Inc., in Postville, Iowa, will face criminal charges.
Initially, 389 people were arrested at the Waterloo-area meat-processing plant.
Vigil attendee Juana Villagran of Sioux City said, with translation from her daughter, that she and her friends think it is unfair for people to be sent back to Mexico when they only want to work for a better life.
"We want a better life for Mexicans because we all came here to work for a better life, for a better education for the kids and for a better life for our families in Mexico," Villagran said.
The Rev. Jim Perdue, pastor of the church's Hispanic ministries, said the prayer vigil was not a political event. Instead, it was a way to show support.
"We're going to remember the people whose lives have been shattered (and) families that have been divided," he said.
Villagran said she and her friends were worried not only about those who are in custody, but also the families that will be left behind if people are deported back to Mexico.
"When we heard about people getting sent back to Mexico we thought about the kids left here," she said. "And us, as mothers, we worry about our kids."
Although Perdue hasn't been able to talk to many Hispanic members of the congregation about the Postville raids, he said the 2006 raids at Swift and Company plants, had a chilling effect on his congregation.
"People were shaken up, because almost everybody in the community knew someone who got arrested," Perdue said. "Whenever this happens, it sends ripples across the United States."
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Dennis wrote on May 16, 2008 10:22 PM:
X-SSC wrote on May 16, 2008 8:29 PM:
hmm... wrote on May 16, 2008 3:50 PM:
We care wrote on May 16, 2008 12:59 PM:
Refineries. It's time to give you a chance. What is the difference that you send you hard earned monies home to support your families, or Big oil and the cronies that support it send there profits to the Grand Caymans. America and the local Economic Development org.
needs you. Let us all embrace You and the Refinery. Cheap Labor, Cheap Gas. "
Joe wrote on May 16, 2008 10:55 AM: