Los Gatos group to hold vigils in response to violent immigration enforcement

Immigration enforcement vigils

The Los Gatos Anti-Racism Coalition is hosting vigils for the next month in remembrance of people who died due to violent immigration enforcement operations.

The vigils will be hosted from 10-11 a.m. Saturdays from Jan. 24 to Feb. 28 in front of the Los Gatos Library.

“We stand for the safety of everyone detained by (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and for swift justice for those responsible,” the coalition said in an email about the events.

The Daily Beast reported that five people died in ICE custody in the first 15 days of 2026 alone. In 2025, the federal agency reported 30 deaths of people in custody. Reports to the American Civil Liberties Union told of detainees enduring physical and sexual abuse, medical neglect and intimidation to self-deport while in custody. The shooting death of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis earlier this month spurred several protests throughout the Bay Area and the nation, including a demonstration that brought over a hundred people out to the Tesla dealership in Los Gatos.

“Will we grow numb to this violence and accept this as the new normal? No. We know what we have witnessed. We will not forget what we saw,” coalition president Jeff Suzuki wrote in the email.

Community book club

The Los Gatos Anti-Racism Coalition’s Community Informed Book Club is hosting an event on Saturday at Los Gatos Library aimed at understanding the history of U.S. foreign policy.

Participants will be reading and discussing “The Jakarta Method” by Vincent Bevins. The book addresses the U.S. government’s support and culpability in anti-communist mass killings in foreign countries from the Cold War until the present day and how those events affected those countries afterward.

The coalition stated that the book may be helpful for understanding the U.S.’s attack on Venezuela, which led to the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, and questions over the President Donald Trump’s idea to annex Greenland.

The event is scheduled for 2 p.m. Both copies of the book at Los Gatos Library are currently checked out, but the book is available for purchase at Barnes & Noble and online.