On Friday, July 12, Lights for Liberty: A Vigil to End Human Detention Camps will bring thousands of Americans to detention camps across the country, into the streets and into their own front yards, to protest the inhumane conditions faced by refugees. The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Central Nassau, 233 Stewart Ave., Garden City, will host a candlelight vigil for all who wish to attend from 8 to 9:30 p.m.
Lights for Liberty vigils are scheduled in 75 locations around the United States and the world, with new locations being added daily. Other vigils will be held across the Long Island area in Huntington, Little Neck, Patchogue, Riverhead and Sag Harbor.
New York City will host two events—at Foley Square and at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah.
Activists and impacted persons will speak on the issue of human detention camps in the United States. At 9 p.m., around the country and around the world, participants will light candles in a silent vigil for all those held in U.S. detention camps to bring light to the darkness of the Trump administration’s horrific policies.
“We shine a light on the inhumane treatment of migrants and refugees by the current administration. To be silent is to be complicit. To sit this out is to be complacent. Now is a time to stand for what is best in all of us, to stop the worst of us. We must stand for one another. At New Sanctuary Coalition, we hold in our hearts a vision of a world worth fighting for,” said Ravi Ragbir, executive director of New Sanctuary Coalition.
“People of color are targets of this administration’s deliberately cruel immigration enforcement policies,” said Nicole Lee, cofounder of the Black Movement Law Project. “We stand vigil with Lights for Liberty and in solidarity with all those in detention camps, and against this administration’s profound racism and xenophobia.”
“I’ve been inside these camps, and the conditions are beyond description. Twenty-four adults and six children that we know of have already died as a result,” said Toby Gialluca, lawyer, activist and member of the organizing team of Lights for Liberty. “The world must take a stand against this administration and stop these camps before more lives are lost.”
About Lights for Liberty: Lights for Liberty is a loose coalition of grassroots activists, with support from long-standing immigrants’ rights organizations and other organizers. Five main events will be held on July 12 in El Paso, San Diego, New York City, Washington, D.C., and Homestead/Miami, FL. More information can be found at www.lightsforliberty.org.
