On Monday, Nov. 2, the Caribbean and Latinx Student Alliance (CALSA) met between the Fogler Library and the Memorial Union to hold a vigil honoring lives lost to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). During the offering ceremony, CALSA officers and faculty spoke about the importance of having these events for the Latin community in the face of ICE brutality.
CALSA officer Sofia Carrasquillo opened the series of speeches by thanking everyone for stopping by and emphasizing what the vigil represented. The second speaker was Micaela Cateriano, who expressed her condolences to the families of those who lost loved ones.
The vigil followed with each officer reading off a total of eight names to honor their lives. The officers were handing out ribbons so that people could decorate a tree. Other students also brought their own offerings, or ofrendas, as a way to recognize those lives.
In a conversation with the Maine Campus, CALSA officers Aylin Noble-Ramirez and Valeria Ixchel Juárez Vergara spoke about the cultural significance of having this vigil on Día de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead.
“It’s very opening to our culture,” said Vergara. “We’re such a small community here. Many people don’t really know about Día de los Muertos and to have a little celebration of our culture is special.”
Vergara explained that she has been planning this event since last semester and has worked to incorporate her Mexican culture into making this vigil possible. She hopes that these events will help alleviate the fear around diversity and allow others outside of the Latinx community to understand the impact that fear has had.
“This is an important day for a lot of Latinos here,” said Noble-Ramirez. “Having this remembrance for victims of ICE is really meaningful, not just to me but to all the people that showed up today.”
Desiree Peña is the advisor for CALSA and is also the program associate for community inclusion and disability. Peña emphasized the emotional distress that ICE brutality has caused for her.
“I hold my breath every time I open an article. The degrees of separation are really narrow,” said Peña.
Peña said that these events are important because they send a message that ICE enforcement actions will not be tolerated. She called for political change to make sure that this does not continue to impact more people. Peña ended her speech by stating how delighted she was to see how many people support the cause and the people that are directly impacted.
The Maine Campus also spoke to Adrián Arias-Palomo, executive director of the Maine Multi-Cultural Center (MMCC), who began by expressing how heartwarming it is to see people at the vigil. Arias-Palomo says he feels privileged to be the executive director of the MMCC and explained that the goal of the organization is to provide the immigrant community with resources, such as finding housing and employment opportunities.
“It is important to make sure they feel supported and that they know we are here for them. It’s the little acts of kindness that make the difference,” said Arias-Palomo.
