Hundreds of people held Catholic Mass outside the Indianapolis Immigration and Customs Enforcement office on the city’s westside Saturday. Speakers at the service spoke against detainments and deportations.
Catholics in Communion organized the event.
Miguel Avila spoke during the service. He said he was detained for more than nine months, two years ago. He described total isolation.
“No sunlight, no fresh air, no family visits, not knowing my whereabouts, losing track of time, not knowing if it's day or night, living in some of those are the worst conditions of a human being could ever experience,” Avila said.
He said his family suffered too.
“The tremendous stress levels my wife and family had to deal with and the psychological trauma caused to my children is not something that can be easily handled,” Avila said. “My family will never be the same again.”
Clergy asked people to think about Avila's story and pray for all detainees.
Since President Donald Trump took office in 2025, his administration escalated the number of detentions and deportations.
Many Indiana elected officials back that strategy. Last session lawmakers passed a sweeping immigration bill to require all law enforcement, local government and schools to comply with federal actions. The state also entered a partnership with ICE to hold up to 1000 male detainees at Miami Correctional Facility just north of Kokomo.
People in attendance sang, read scripture and placed items of religious and personal significance to them in front of the altar.
After communion, Dr. Alice Prince knelt and prayed on the road in front of the ICE office. Prince is from St. Louis, Missouri, and was in town for a conference for the Discerning Deacons, and she said she felt called to attend the event.
“This is a human rights issue. It's a dignity issue. Catholics are just not about praying, but we're also about action,” Prince said.
Contact WFYI All Things Considered newscaster and reporter Samantha Horton at shorton@wfyi.org or on Signal at SamHorton.05.
