The Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity held a three-day nonviolent protest in California’s Central Valley from Sept. 26 to 28. Attendees held signs, banners and sculptures as they danced and marched. Dolores Huerta delivered a speech in which she repeated her famous slogan “sí se puede,” or “yes we can.” The demonstration assembled around a common objective: to shut down ICE detention centers.
Fueled by a $45 billion budget, the number of detained people in the United States has increased from 39,000 to 61,000 since President Donald Trump took office in January. The Interfaith Movement works to release detained people, striving to protect the rights, dignity, humanity and well-being of immigrants while opposing deportations and detention centers.
According to a report by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), there have been numerous cases of human rights violations within the Mesa Verde detention center in Bakersfield, such as medical negligence and sexually degrading pat-downs. When detainees file reports, they often face retaliation such as solitary confinement, transfer to different detention centers and restriction of access to phone calls and visitation.
The protest, known as a pilgrimage to movement leaders, included visits to three detention centers in California’s Central Valley to meet with detained people and offer emotional support. “Folks who are inside the detention centers are really suffering. They’re being physically, mentally and sexually abused,” said Tania Bernal, member of the California Youth Justice Alliance (CYJA) and Interfaith in an interview with The Urban Legend.
During the pilgrimage, Bernal spoke about her experience previously having a loved one in a detention center. “The only way I could see my mom was through a plastic wall. … I couldn’t hug her. I couldn’t touch her. And her appearance just deteriorated. She wasn’t my mom,” Bernal said.
Many immigrant rights activists have close ties to this cause. Bertie Hernandez, an organizer of the Interfaith pilgrimage and deportation defense coordinator for the CYJA, was a previously detained person. In an interview with The Urban Legend, they reflected on their personal commitment to immigrant rights. “You do it because there’s a connection, because there’s an impact, because you have a calling for it,” they said.
Despite efforts to comply with ICE protocols, protesters faced unexpected challenges during the first two days of the pilgrimage. On both days at Mesa Verde and Golden State Annex detention centers, marchers — including family members of detained people — were denied visitations. Many families had traveled across the state to visit their loved ones because there are no detention centers in the Bay Area.
CoreCivic, the largest private prison company in the United States, owns and operates the California City Detention Facility (CAC), California’s largest detention center with a bed capacity of 2,560.
California Senate Bill 29 requires at least 180 days of public notice and two public comment meetings before approving permits or land transfers to new ICE detention centers. When ICE officials were entering into contracts with Corecivic, the public did not receive any notice. The ACLU only heard about CAC through a public records request submitted to the Department of Homeland Security.
On the third day of the pilgrimage, Interfaith attempted to visit CAC before the march, and ICE granted them access. In the previous two days, they had been denied access after the marches. Inside the detention center, members of Interfaith broke up into groups to meet with detained people and offer emotional support and company.
On Oct. 22, the Department of Homeland Security announced an ICE deployment in the Bay Area. The next day, Interfaith members and other immigrant rights organizers protested at Coast Guard Island in Oakland, where ICE was reportedly going to be stationed.
During the protest, a Customs and Border Control vehicle ran over the foot of Interfaith Movement member Mathew Leber. Interfaith leader and co-director Reverend Deborah Lee spoke about safety at Interfaith protests in an interview with The Urban Legend. “Even if I don’t feel 100% safe, it’s our right. It’s our constitutional right [to protest],” she said.
As ICE enforcement continues, students stress the importance of recognizing immigrants’ humanity. “Most of these people who are getting detained by ICE are just providing for families, are just living their lives — and then they’re being ripped away from their [families],” Latinos Unidos co-leader Sofia Quintuña ’27 said. “I hope immigrants have the right to live freely, and … provide for their families without living in fear.”