MUSKEGON, MI – More than 100 community members gathered Saturday evening, Jan. 3, in downtown Muskegon for a candlelight vigil for their immigrant neighbors.
A crowd, including a variety of faith leaders and several community leaders, gathered in the snowy, 26-degree January weather at the nativity scene on display at Hackley Park.
“Just as the holy family was in danger from Herod and had to flee to Egypt, we have people here who have fled here and are now being persecuted,” Dr. Susan Fabrick, one of the event organizers, said to the crowd. “It’s really important to remember that our religious traditions have a lot to tell us about how we should behave to each other, even when it’s hard.”
The event sought to promote justice for immigrants affected by increased action by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Among the crowd were husband and wife Bruce Froelich and Margot Haynes, holding signs that read “Farmers in Distress” and “Felon War Criminal.”
“This is important to support our neighbors who are being harassed and bullied and harassed because they look like somebody who might come from somewhere else,” Haynes said.
Officials with the Muskegon Police Department said in January 2025 that the department’s officers are not arresting or detaining anyone based on immigration status.
Haynes added that she made her sign that morning after hearing the news that the U.S. launched a strike in Venezuela, capturing President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.
“We lose our moral standing in the whole world,” Froelich said. “We don’t have the right to criticize even Putin anymore because we’re doing the same damn thing.”
A moment of silence was held at the nativity before attendees gathered inside St. Paul’s Episcopal Church across the street.
Local leaders from several different faiths spoke about the moral and spiritual imperative to welcome and support immigrants, including those who are undocumented.
The speakers referred to Christian and Buddhist teachings, personal anecdotes and historical references to call on the audience to protect their neighbors.
“‘The alien who resides with you shall be as a citizen among you,’” Tom Wagner, formerly of Church of the Brethren, read from the Bible. “‘You shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.’ As descendants of immigrants, we need to take those stories and those teachings to heart.”
Another speaker, the Rev. Rob Blanchard of Community United Methodist in North Muskegon, spoke of a childhood friend who immigrated to the U.S. as a child and was deported as an adult after a DUI.
“He deserved the same mercy that all the white guys that I went to school with have received over the years when they’ve had run ins with the law,” Blanchard said. “He shouldn’t have had to have been perfect to stay in our community. It should have been enough that he was human. It should have been enough that this was his home.”
Becca Hawley-Lowry of Lakeshore Rapid Response to ICE spoke about the organization’s efforts to provide defense and mutual aid to those affected.
Local food pantry donations were collected during the event.