Participants will gather with candles, signs, and quiet reflection, walking slowly across the bridge as a symbol of solidarity with detained immigrants and their families.
“This is not just a national issue—it’s a local one,” said Amy Bruce for Phenix City Indivisible. “ICE operations are targeting families right here in the Chattahoochee Valley, and Stewart Detention Center continues to operate under a cloud of abuse and secrecy. This vigil is our way of saying: we see what’s happening, and we will not be silent.”
Stewart Detention Center, one of the largest immigrant detention centers in the U.S., has been the subject of numerous investigations and lawsuits citing medical neglect, unsanitary conditions, inadequate legal access, and multiple in-custody deaths. Despite these alarming facts, ICE continues detaining individuals from nearby communities with little transparency or oversight.