In 2026, 22 people have died in ICE custody. Thank you to poet Lupe Mendez for sharing this poem at the vigil for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo — may his memory, and this poem, fortify us in the fight for justice.
para Lorenzo Salgado Araujo (¡presente!)
Blessed be you, provider,
one day, you will be provided for.
Blessed be all the Dreamers,
for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed be all the trabajadores,
for one day, la calma, the stillness will all be yours.
Blessed are they that mourn,
for you teach us how to be lights in the dark.
Blessed be you, the witness, truth teller
for you inherit all we see and cannot say.
Blessed be those who gather,
you are the body siempre en la lucha.
Blessed be the barrio, quienes griten,
for we never forget un mal hecho.
Blessed be all the mother, the fathers,
for you are the kingdom of a god.
Blessed be all the elders, all the buelos, todo las doñas,
nos dan palabra y obra en las palmas de tus manos.
Blessed be all the children wishing on stars
all the children
all the children
all the separated children
all the disappeared children,
you call people to make more than peace, more than war.
