WAUKESHA, Wis. — A Waukesha church community gathered for a prayer vigil after one of their members was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
The man, who is originally from El Salvador, was taken into custody as he left for work Tuesday morning, according to Ascension Lutheran Church's lead pastor.
Pastor Chris Marien told TMJ4 he was undocumented and that they would not identify the man due to the situation.
"We got word this morning that a member of our church was picked up as he left for work this morning and so one of our pastors responded and met our member who was engaged with ICE agents, officers already," Marien said.
Marien said the man was detained in front of his family and taken to a detention center in Milwaukee before being released later with ankle monitoring.
Watch: Waukesha church holds prayer vigil after parishioner detained by ICE
"We were wary of whether or not that was going to happen, and then we found out that that did happen, so we were able to go and pick him up at the detention center and bring him home," Marien said.
The church has served as a spiritual home for several years for the man and his family, offering Spanish-speaking services for their parishioners. Despite having no criminal history, according to Marien, the father now faces an uncertain future with possible deportation.
The news of the detention prompted community members to gather at Ascension Lutheran Church for a prayer vigil. That vigil was set to happen in two weeks, but church leaders moved it up in light of what happened Tuesday.
"My heart stopped and my stomach got upset," said Deb Kohler, who attended the vigil after reading the church's announcement.
Kohler felt compelled to attend and voice her concerns about the situation to TMJ4.
"Our prayers go up to him, his family, the entire community, and this entire nation, because something needs to be done," Kohler said.
She expressed frustration about the impact such actions have on communities.
"This shouldn't be happening here. It's sad, it's frightening, it's tearing communities apart," Kohler said.
While the man's immigration status remains uncertain, the church community continues to support him and his family.
Greater Milwaukee Synod Bishop Paul Erickson offered this statement to TMJ4:
"Our hearts go out to all those who are fearful at this time. This is just another example of the broken immigration system that we have, and my hope is that we will find a way to fix our immigration system so that the people who want to live and work here and contribute to our society can do so without fear."
This story was reported by Mike Beiermeister and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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