Lights For Liberty Vigil Planned In Towson Ahead Of ICE Raids

TOWSON, MD — Community members will gather at Patriot Plaza Friday night in Towson for a vigil to protest immigration policies in place at the southern U.S. border. Attendees will light candles for undocumented immigrants who are being detained.

The event is being held in coordination with the grassroots Lights for Liberty movement. Almost 600 groups around the globe are expected to hold Lights for Liberty vigils Friday night.

Speeches will begin at 6:30 p.m., then attendees will light candles "to bring light to the darkness of the Trump administration's horrific policies," according to organizers.

These are the Baltimore County Lights for Liberty vigil participants:

• Together We Will Baltimore Area (Jill Hornstein, Camille Mihalic)
• Our Revolution Baltimore City/County (Sheila Ruth)
• Galvanize Maryland (Sarah Mogol)
• Indivisible Central Maryland (Susan Radke)
• Alexandra Ivanovich
• Lenora Dawson

Co-Hosts:

• CASA
• Asylee Women Enterprises (AWE)
• Lutheran Immigrant & Refugee Services (LIRS)
• Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc (CLINIC)
• Indivisible Towson
• Catonsville Indivisibles
• TWW Baltimore Area
• Baltimore County Progressive Democrats Club
• Our Revolution Baltimore City/County
• Galvanize Maryland

Speakers:

• Ben Cardin, US Senator of Maryland (written support statement)
• John Sarbanes, Congressman, 3rd District, MD (written support statement)
• Shelly Hettleman, Maryland House of Delegates, District 11
• Carmen Christiana (representing County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr., written support statement)
• CASA
• Asylee Women Enterprises (AWE)
• Lutheran Immigrant & Refugee Services (LIRS)
• Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC)
• Esperanza Center
• Immigrant Families Together
• Jennifer Zunikoff
• Jessica Lopez
• Walkiria Aceituno
• Alejandra Ivanovich

There will also be music and vendor tables set up for those seeking information.

The event comes days before Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials are expected to begin raids in at least 10 major cities, including Baltimore, targeting immigrants who have been ordered to be deported, according to The New York Times. Agents will also sweep up other undocumented immigrants who are present for the arrests even if they are not among the targets, according to the Times.

President Donald Trump first announced the raids with a June 17 Twitter post, saying authorities would start removing "millions of illegal aliens." But he said days later that the operation had been delayed to give Congress a chance to address problems at the southern U.S. border.On Friday, he confirmed to reporters at the White House that ICE would be conducting a sweep this weekend to pick up people who had outstanding deportation orders. "It's a major operation," Trump said, according to ABC News. He said the agents would be "focused on criminals...before we do anything else" and said undocumented immigrants would be returned to their countries or jailed.

The Lights for Liberty vigil in Towson will take place from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Patriot Plaza, 401 Bosley Avenue, Towson, MD 21204.

Other Lights for Liberty events in Maryland will be held in these areas:

• Annapolis
• Baltimore
• Catonsville
• Chestertown
• Columbia
• East Baltimore
• Elkton
• Frederick
• Mount Rainier
• Westminster