Shelter Island vigil for victims of ICE: Strong crowd in brutal cold at Community Center 

More than 60 Shelter Island residents gathered on a frigid Friday evening outside the Community Center for an event dubbed: “Shine a Light — Vigil for Victims of ICE.”

Vigils were also held Friday throughout the North and South forks. Many cities across the U.S. had large protests.

The gathering at the Community Center was to commemorate the deaths of Minneapolis residents Alex Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse, and Renée Good, a poet and mother of three, at the hands of masked agents who’d been detaining immigrants and facing protests in Minnesota, as well as other deaths during Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions across the nation.  

Meghan Michalak stood with her daughter and a friend near a tall white pole with a spotlit U.S. flag snapping in the wind. “I’m here because I really want my girls to understand what’s happening in the world,” she said, “and get an idea of why it’s so wrong and that we can’t stand for it”

Rev. Stephen Adkison, pastor of the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church, welcomed the group huddled in the dark. “We come together in sorrow, remembrance and in solidarity,” he said, speaking of the need to call out injustice and affirm a commitment to humanity and peace. Later in the service, he read the names of 32 people who died in ICE custody in 2025-26.

It was freezing at the 40-minute Shelter Island vigil, with a wind chill of zero degrees; it had been even colder six days earlier, in Minneapolis, as cold as -15 degrees on the day Alex Pretti was tackled and shot in the back. 

Michelle Corbett, a teacher and cheerleading coach, said, “I’m here to show support for Renee and Alex and their families and to stand against the horrific things happening in this country right now.”

Retiree Dan Lambeth said he joined the vigil “to do whatever I can do to defend our democracy. What ICE is doing is so wrong.”

A younger member of the community said: “I love the idea of a vigil that is focused on peace. I’m praying a lot, and joining with other people makes me feel more courageous in working for peace.”

Catherine “Cat” Brigham, chair of the Shelter Island Democratic Committee, read an announcement from Organizacion Latino Americana (OLA), the East End’s largest immigrant-focused nonprofit, urging people to text their names to OLA and join Operation Stand and Protect to help immigrants. (The OLA text is 631-500-5001.)

Julie Fanelli read a message from the East End Vigils organizer, Anita Boyer, saying, “There is strength in our numbers and we can keep us safer and inspire real change when we all come out and stand in the light.”

People were visibly moved when Lora Lomuscio, a ceramic artist, recited a Joseph Fasano poem honoring Alex Pretti, opening:

Because his last words were for a woman,

Because he asked: Are you okay? Are you okay?

Because he had learned to say it

By standing each night beside the dying, Because sometimes he held their hands …

Shelter Island resident Erland Zygmuntowicz, a retired history teacher, strummed a guitar and sang a Jon Fromer song, “If You’re Looking for Freedom” as attendees sang along.

Rev. Adkison closed the vigil with a moment of silence and a prayer: “Let the light we have shared tonight continue to shine in our words, our choices and our actions.” 

Shivering, the assembled crowd said “Amen” and then scattered back to their cars and the warmth of their homes.