Washington vigils show solidarity with Arizona

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July 29^th was a day of community action, energetic organizing, and solidarity across the country with the people of Arizona and against SB1070. While protesters in New York City shut down the Brooklyn Bridge, rallied and staged civil disobedience in Phoenix, and protested in the streets of Los Angeles, people across the state of Washington gathered for a day of prayer and reflection. OneAmerica community base groups and the Washington Immigration Reform Coalition organized candlelight vigils and gatherings in 13 cities including Vancouver, Kent, Auburn, Bellingham, Burlington, Edmonds, Lynnwood, Seattle, Shelton, Kennewick, Yakima, Wenatchee, and Walla Walla.

Community leaders called local media, passed out flyers, and contacted religious leaders to announce and promote their events:

• In Eastern Washington, large groups of supporters arrived at their churches dressed in white with their children and carrying candles.

• Over 60 people attended the vigil at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Walla Walla, where base group leaders had drawn a large white cross on the ground and each person lit their candle, shared their hopes for immigration reform, and added the candle to the cross.

• In Yakima, people gathered at La Casa Hogar and the committee prayed for the families living in fear in Arizona. Eva Valdivia, a mother and leader in Yakima, told KNDO TV that she worries Arizona's immigration law could have a lasting effect on children, even in Central Washington. "They're scared their parents will be sent away, how are they going to grow up, and in the future what are they doing to feel if they're left without parents, what are the scars that will be left behind," Valdivia said.

• In Wenatchee and Kennewick, hundreds of people gathered for vigils and processions. They lifted up their hopes, fears, and spoke up to neighbors that the fight is not over in Arizona, nor in the country. Jazmin Santacruz, Pasco OneAmerica leader told KVEW TV "we want the federal government to know that this has gone far enough. They need to step up and take the reins in this and come together with the Senate and come up with immigration reform for everybody."

• In Kent, the community organized more than 50 people at Holy Spirit Parish for a procession; people entered the church singing and wearing the color white representing hope. One of the highlights was a community member prepared a special rosary for the immigrant community, representing the life of Jesus as a migrant and the women in the Bible as mothers separated from their children. It was symbolic and beautiful, and was even greeted by Fox News!

• Farther north, the communities of Skagit Valley gathered in the Burlington Lutheran Church and the migrant camps, where over 85 people lit candles in an outside mass, praying for the people of Arizona and the families of migrants who are suffering under the current immigration system.

• Youth were involved in the cities of Lynnwood and Edmonds, reaching out to their families and friends to gather in a park near the local school district headquarters. They prayed for the communities of Arizona, and for their own community, which they said are both affected by racial profiling.

On July 29, Washington cried out “We are all Arizona!” and our hopes and prayers for comprehensive immigration reform will continue as we organize together across the state.