Victims of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and related agencies were honored in a candlelight vigil around the campus clock tower on Feb. 5.
Hosted by the Student Government Association’s Diversity Leadership Cabinet, the service aimed to honor victims of expanded immigration enforcement under the second Trump administration and to stand in solidarity with affected communities.
The event was primarily organized by Elias Donohue, a sophomore medical sciences major at Saint Louis University and a member of the DLC.
“This is a reflective moment for what’s happening,” Donohue said.
Students and faculty held candles in the frigid February air as they recited the SLU Oath of Inclusion, a pledge to foster a community inclusive of “race, ethnicity, sex, age, ability, faith, orientation, gender, class and ideology.”
Donohue then stood before the crowd and solemnly listed the names and causes of death for all 36 individuals killed by ICE since 2025, calling attention to those whose deaths have not received media attention.
Senior computer science major and Vietnamese international student Ngan Nguyen said her community lives in constant fear of being unduly deported. Members of Nguyen’s family immigrated legally, yet are still deeply concerned about being targeted by ICE.
“They still have to be scared, because one day maybe ICE will deport them,” Nguyen said. “We have to speak up about the situation,” Nguyen said at the vigil, adding that the country is falling short on the American dream, the belief that the United States offers equal opportunity to pursue a better life.
Kaiden Nair, a freshman majoring in psychology, said he attended the vigil to raise awareness for the injustice and inequalities perpetuated by ICE.
“These cruel, unkind acts of murder and execution are unconstitutional, yet we [as a country] continue to carry them out,” Nair said.
Among other speakers at the vigil, Dean of Students Donney Moroney told the story of her own family’s immigration from Nicaragua due to political persecution. She said that people must mourn and consciously humanize all victims of state violence.
“When I see these stories, I don’t see headlines. I see my family,” Moroney said.
Undocumented immigration is classified as a civil offense, a crime that affects a private party rather than society more broadly. The typical punishment for a civil offense is a fine, yet armed ICE agents are targeting workplaces and entering homes without warrants, often violently or under deception, which is illegal.
Of the more than 60,000 individuals detained by ICE in 2025, many, including minors, have reported various forms of inhumane treatment at their place of detainment, including sexual abuse, physical violence and lack of proper medical treatment. Many of these detention centers are alleged to be illegally preventing congressional oversight.
As ICE and related agencies continue to crack down on immigration throughout the U.S., many members of the SLU community remain steadfast in their support of the freedom and dignity of all.
