On Jan. 16, people of faith and immigrant rights advocates gathered at Our Lady of Soledad Church in Coachella to remember Luis Beltran Yanez-Cruz.
A Mass celebrated by parish pastor, Father Francisco Gómez Aguilar, S.T., was offered in Yanez-Cruz’s memory. The 68-year-old Honduran man had been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in his home state of New Jersey and was transferred to several different federal detention centers before passing away at JFK Memorial Hospital in Indio on Jan. 6.
Luz Gallegos, Executive Director of the immigrant rights organization Training Occupational Develop Educating Communities (TODEC), became aware of Yanez-Cruz’s passing at the local hospital and coordinated the remembrance with Our Lady of Soledad parish. While detained, Luis had stayed in contact with his daughter and told her that he was experiencing chest pain and shortness of breath.
Gallegos and Fr. Gomez said they were quick to plan a Memorial Mass because their community is also experiencing separation of families through immigration enforcement and they know how painful it is. Gallegos said that Luis’s daughter was moved to tears to learn that this community, who did not know her father, was holding this Mass and offering prayers for him and his family.
“We were very moved because we know how difficult it is for the families that are here locally that when their family members transfer to another state, how difficult that is for the family that they can’t go visit him, that seeking help is more challenging when they’re in another state,” Gallegos said. “So, we did not know who the family was, but we knew as a community that we had to come together at least in prayer.”
Gallegos recalled that when she saw a photo of Yanez-Cruz she felt as though she was looking at her own parents and grandparents and asked herself how she would feel if she was not able to be by his side in his final days.
“Although we did not know him, that pain is our pain, and it just hurts because we lost so many community members and we’ve seen how so many lives are being impacted not only with their family but a whole community, the whole entire Coachella Valley. We came together to honor his life, his soul, his family and for the many lives that have been lost during immigration enforcement,” Gallegos said.