Ministers and activists from North Carolina organized a prayer vigil and protest at the Farmville Detention Center on Saturday.

This is the second demonstration held recently relating to the Farmville Detention Center. The first was held on July 12.

The first part of the Saturday vigil, a conference, took place at Wilck’s Lake, where several speakers prayed and voiced concern and heartbreak for those detained in the United States, of reports of squalid conditions at detention centers and of children at the Southwest Border being separated from their parents.

The Rev. Dr. Nancy Petty, pastor of Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in North Carolina, gave scriptures about how sojourners or those foreign are to be treated.

Petty organized the event with other people of faith and organizers. She said there were other organizations planning to go to detention centers in Texas or to the Southwest Border. She said she decided to visit a center that was close to home.

“As people of conscious, as people of faith, as leaders of eight communities, we are here to proclaim the inherent worth and dignity of every single person,” Petty said. “We cannot stand for the immoral actions taking place in the name of our country, and in violation of our constitution against those at our borders or in our communities seeking safety and protection.”

“We are better than this as a nation,” Petty said. “We are all welcome.”

Ana Ilarraza-Blackburn, North Carolina’s NAACP Latino Liaison and Tri-City Chair with the Poor Peoples Campaign: A Call for Moral Revolution, led with a prayer. She said those who have immigrated are often ridiculed and live in fear of being deported or imprisoned.

“Do you know anguish of being separated or of being ripped from your child, spouse or parent?” Ilarraza-Blackburn said. “Do you know what it is like being called a rapist, a drug dealer, a terrorist or an illegal, bad person and thief, and how many times have you been told to go back to your country? This is the life and plight of an immigrant in the United States of America. This nation should weep for the injustice and immoral acts thrust upon the immigrant community. The immigrant community who has helped build this nation every day in every aspect of every American life.”

Ilarraza-Blackburn spoke about being raised in a Christian home by a strong Latina mother and learning early on that she was her brother’s keeper.

Quoting the New and Old Testament and studies that show the impact of words, she said the rhetoric of the current administration has a profound impact on those in the country and lead people to destructive, hateful action that include abuse of those at detention centers.

“Just like Trail of Tears and Slavery, as long as it is profitable to oppress people, and let’s be real, this is the black and brown people we are talking about, change won’t come,” she said.

“When will this nation learn from its past history?” she said. “When will we choose to value life over money and power? Until those in white America stop embracing the Jim Crow White Nationalism, oppression and racism will never be eradicated.”

After the conference at Wilck’s Lake, approximately 14 ministers and people of faith gathered at the Immigration Centers of America (ICA) training center and office located at 417 W. Third St.

While at the front of the building, the ministers held hands and prayed. One minister addressed poverty and lack of economic opportunities in the region, and prayed for creativity and opportunities for people to find employment.

They then placed their hands on the building itself, speaking out loud or silently.

The ministers then returned to Wilck’s Lake, where most of the participants were having lunch.

The roughly 60-70 participants drove on a bus and separate vehicles to Waterworks Road, where the Farmville Detention Center ICA is located.

The participants then walked to the entrance of the detention center.

Petty led the walk holding a loudspeaker and singing hymns, which participants joined in singing. Many held signs.

At the ICA entrance, a few more participants prayed and spoke about experiences of immigration in the United States.

At the entrance, the sign to the facility was visible. The detention center is downhill. The top of the building was barely visible.

Minna Blottner said she was adopted from Vietnam by U.S. parents. Her younger brother, who was adopted from Mexico, was called a terrorist at school for his skin color.

“This is everyone’s country, no matter your place of origin, then your accent, your color of skin. This is God’s country, and we need to bring it back to the love that God has shown us through Jesus,” she said.

The Rev. Ian McPherson, associate pastor of United Church of Chapel Hill, asked for deliverance of the practice of immigration detention centers. He said the actions of the United States leadership currently is a reflection of the sin of white supremacy.

“We come today to pray for justice,” McPherson said. “We come today with a holy lament for what this nation has become, what we are seeing it has always been … We who believe in freedom cannot rest.”

Elena Ceberio, event organizer, said that those seeking asylum are often not terrorists and rather are one of the most terrorized communities in the U.S. Ceberio said her father escaped a fascist regime.

“We are fighting for those who cannot speak,” Ceberio said. “Please don’t make this the last and only time your feet march, your voices are lifted, your wallets are open, your hearts are engaged with this community.”

“This is, as Nancy says, not a moment. What I see here, this is a movement,” Ceberio said.

Petty asked participants to stretch out their hands to the center and pray for everyone inside the center.

“Pray without ceasing in these moments,” she said.

Participants prayed silently for a few minutes, then began to sing:

“Lord, listen to your children praying. Send us love. Send us power. Send us grace.”

Silently, they left the ICA entrance and walked back to the main road.