TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — About 200 people gathered Monday at the corner of Valencia and Country Club for what began as a prayer vigil for Alex Pretti and evolved into a protest calling for President Donald Trump's impeachment and an end to ICE actions.
The vigil also honored Renee Good, who died during a recent ICE confrontation. Attendees from multiple faith communities, including the United Church of Christ, Grace St. Paul's Episcopal Church, and an interfaith group, came together to pray and voice their opposition to current immigration policies.
"People are sad and angry and despairing," said Delle McCormick, the pastor at Grace St. Paul's Episcopal Church.
The gathering transformed from a solemn prayer service into a more vocal demonstration as participants expressed frustration with federal immigration enforcement.
"Stop being cruel. Stop being insane, and start having a humane policy," said Michael McCrory, who attended the vigil.
McCormick emphasized the importance of community solidarity during challenging times.
"We need each other to survive. We need each other to thrive, and that's what this is about," McCormick said. "In a time where there's such strife, division, such cruelty, to come together around love."
Many protesters called for ICE to be abolished or to limit its operations to border enforcement only. McCrory argued that immigration patterns reflect economic demand.
"The reason we have immigrants coming and taking jobs is because of demand for the immigrants and people want them to work, so we're inviting them here," McCrory said.
The U.S. Department of State said President Trump is ensuring that immigrants who receive visas are financially self-sufficient and don't use welfare programs.
Some attendees expressed broader political opposition to the current administration.
"We need to get Trump out of office. That's the main thing, and then I think we can go from there because in one year he's totally destroyed America," said Terresa Hermann, who attended the vigil.
On his Truth Social media platform, President Trump recently said he had a good phone call with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, writing that "lots of progress is being made."
Trump also said he had a good phone call with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and that they are working together. Trump said they seemed to be “on a similar wavelength.” Additionally, Tom Homan, the U.S.’s border czar is being sent to Minnesota to overlook ICE.
Despite the challenges they face, vigil participants said they remain committed to advocating for change.
"It's about standing up on the Constitution and saying we're here and we're not going away," McCormick said.
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Andrew Christiansen is a reporter for KGUN 9. Before joining the team, Andrew reported in Corpus Christi, Texas for KRIS6 News, Action 10 News and guest reported in Spanish for Telemundo Corpus Christi. Share your story ideas with Andrew by emailing andrew.christiansen@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, or Twitter.
