On Monday evening, Kern County Democrats and their affiliated clubs held a demonstration and candlelit vigil honoring the lives of those who have lost their lives due to actions taken by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

The demonstration comes amid renewed national scrutiny of ICE’s enforcement tactics and detention practices.

Before the start of the demonstration, attendees lined the curb near the Liberty Bell, holding signs opposing ICE and its enforcement practices. Carter Beardsley, president and founder of the Runner Democrats, opened the demonstration by urging the crowd not to feel powerless in the face of ongoing immigration raids and detention.

Carter Beardsley, president and founder of the Runner Democrats, opened the vigil by urging attendees not to feel powerless in the face of what he described as ongoing harm caused by ICE operations. He emphasized the importance of collective action and speaking out, pointing to organizing efforts in other states as evidence that public pressure can lead to change.

Referencing viral videos of ICE enforcement actions, Beardsley spoke emotionally, saying the images feel inescapable and reflect a broader national crisis. He invoked the words inscribed on the Statue of Liberty, “give me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses,” to underscore what he said was a contradiction between American ideals and current immigration practices.

“I am sick and tired that we are killing our poor, we are killing our hungry, and we are terrorizing our huddled masses,” Beardsley said. “This is not the America that I know. This is not the America that I love.”

He framed the vigil as a moment of moral responsibility, telling the crowd that future generations would ask how people responded during this period. Rather than remaining silent, he said, attendees were choosing to show up, speak out, and demand a different path forward.

“It is a dark day in America,” Beardsley said, “but we will rise strong again, and light will dawn again.”

The call to action continued with remarks from Vanessa Orozco, president of the Bakersfield College Democrats, who described immigration enforcement practices as both harmful and preventable.

Orozco said communities across the country have been silenced and families torn apart by ICE operations, arguing that the loss of life tied to enforcement is not accidental but the result of policies carried out without accountability. She referenced recent cases, including the death of Alex Pretti, as examples of what she described as predictable outcomes of aggressive enforcement tactics.

“These are not accidents,” Orozco said. “They are predictable results of policy enforcement without accountability.”

She urged attendees to move beyond speaking out and take tangible steps to demand change, emphasizing civic engagement and organizing as essential tools. Orozco encouraged community members to attend city council meetings, contact elected officials, volunteer with advocacy groups, and vote in upcoming elections.

“We will not be silent. We will not be passive,” she said. “Every life matters, and we will not let the failures of leadership go unanswered.”

Bakersfield City Vice Mayor Manpreet Kaur also attended the vigil and spoke with Kern Sol News ahead of the demonstration, saying she was there to stand in solidarity with immigrant communities and affirm their right to safety.

Kaur emphasized that the country was built by immigrants and described immigration as a source of strength, noting that she is herself the child of immigrants. She said that identity, combined with her role as an elected official, made it her responsibility to speak out when she sees harm affecting the community.

“As an elected official, that is a place of privilege and decision-making responsibility,” Kaur said. “I will always speak up when something happens in our community that is absolutely wrong.”

She pointed to California law limiting cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities, describing those protections as critical for resident safety. At the same time, she said local officials must continue to use their platforms to call out what she described as unlawful actions by ICE agents across the country.

Among those in attendance were Kern County residents Amanda Beardsley and Tracy Coffey, who said they came to the vigil out of concern for human rights and fear that their own community could be next.

“I can’t stand and watch people just be murdered for no reason,” Coffey said. “We have to stand up.”

Amanda Beardsley said the ongoing nature of immigration enforcement actions has left many people feeling exhausted and desensitized, even as the consequences grow more severe. She expressed concern that what has happened in other communities could soon be repeated in Kern County.

“We’re struggling with how it just seems like it just keeps going and going, and nothing’s being done, and people are so complicit to it,” Amanda Beardsley commented.

Amanda Beardlsey, a school teacher in Delano, said she has seen the effects of immigration enforcement firsthand through her students and their families, describing the fear it creates within the community.

Both Amanda Beardsley and Coffey said accountability has become increasingly difficult to achieve, as new crises quickly replace old ones without meaningful consequences. Still, they emphasized the importance of continuing to speak out and organize despite fatigue.

“It’s getting exhausting, and we cannot get tired,” Amanda Beardsley said. “Too many people have fought to get us to this point.”

Yvette Denton, president of the Tehachapi Mountain Democratic Club, addressed the crowd with a forceful critique of federal immigration enforcement and what she described as a broader erosion of civil liberties.

Denton said she believes the federal government has increasingly targeted immigrant communities through aggressive ICE tactics, destabilizing neighborhoods, and instilling fear. She rejected the idea that such actions should be considered normal or acceptable, calling instead for an end to what she described as the weaponization of federal power.

“This is not the norm we accept,” Denton said. “ICE must be stopped.”

The vigil continued with remarks from local advocate Audrey Chavez, who said she attended as both a U.S. citizen and an advocate for families navigating the immigration system.

Chavez said the evening was about remembrance, justice, and resisting the urge to justify violence committed by those in positions of power. She led the crowd in naming individuals who she said had lost their lives in encounters with immigration enforcement over the past year, asking attendees to respond “presente” after each name.

“We need to remember the lives that have been lost,” Chavez said. “We need to remember the sacredness of each and every one. They all deserve remembrance, and they all deserve justice.”

She challenged narratives that seek to excuse deaths by questioning victims’ actions, pointing instead to systemic inequality and privilege. Chavez emphasized that lived experiences with law enforcement and immigration enforcement differ widely, even as constitutional rights are meant to apply equally to all.

“Democracy needs our courage,” she said. “It needs our restraint, and it needs our action.”