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A capacity crowd gathered at United Christian Parish in Reston on Thursday to mourn Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two U.S. citizens recently shot and killed by federal immigration officers in Minnesota.

Rep. James Walkinshaw helped organize the interfaith vigil, which brought together local religious and human rights leaders. Attendees also remembered others who have died in federal immigration custody or during encounters with immigration agencies.

Pretti, an intensive care nurse with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, was shot Jan. 24 during a scuffle with Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis. His death occurred 17 days after Good was shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer as she drove home after taking one of her children to school.

“Each of them was a human being — not a statistic, not a talking point,” Walkinshaw told the crowd.

Walkinshaw, who traveled to Minneapolis earlier this month after Good’s death, centered his remarks on the obligation to love one’s neighbor.

“To love thy neighbor demands accountability,” he said. “A community, a society, a nation that values human life cannot accept brutality.”

He added that condemning unjustified force and the terrorizing of families, including children, was a moral position rather than a partisan one.

Six local faith leaders joined Walkinshaw, representing Muslim, Jewish, Episcopal and Baptist communities.

The Rev. Elisabeth Williams, who leads United Christian Parish, urged those attending to make room for grief while carrying courage and hope beyond the church.

“May this time be a time for us to grieve, but also a time to take courage and a time to build hope that those candles that we light as we leave will not extinguish the darkness,” Williams said.

Imam Mohamed Magid, resident scholar at the Adams Islamic Center in Ashburn, described Good and Pretti as people who stood for justice when remaining silent would have been easier.

“They defended the marginalized when others turned away,” Magid said. “They spoke truth to power, even when it placed them in harm’s way.”

Rabbi Michael Holzman of the Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation warned against answering hatred with more hatred. He called for love as the response to Dominionism, which he said finds virtue in violence.

Speakers connect Minnesota deployment to local concerns

About 3,000 federal immigration agents remain in Minnesota as part of the Department of Homeland Security’s Operation Metro Surge. The operation began last month at President Donald Trump’s direction.

Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul have challenged the deployment in court, describing it as an unconstitutional occupation that has endangered public safety and disrupted neighborhoods, schools and public services.

Although electoral politics did not dominate the vigil, several speakers voiced alarm about the country’s direction and considered how Northern Virginia might respond if the Trump administration launched a similar operation in the region.

“Law without love becomes cruelty, and authority without accountability becomes deadly,” said Vernon Walton, pastor of First Baptist Church of Vienna.

Walton then read the names of several people who died in ICE custody or were killed by federal immigration officers.

ICE has released limited information showing that 32 people died in immigration custody last year and six more died during the first month of 2026. Since Trump returned to office last January, ICE has arrested more than 352,000 people and deported nearly as many.

Herndon rector recounts parishioner’s deportation

The Rev. Charles Cowherd, rector of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in Herndon, described trying to follow parishioner Walter Bladimir Lopez-Ayala through the detention system as he moved between facilities before being deported to El Salvador.

Cowherd called the process dehumanizing, comparing the effort to tracking an Amazon package. He sought assistance from attorneys, nonprofit groups and other contacts but was unable to prevent the deportation.

“We found out the government is a lot better at deporting people than we are at protecting them,” Cowherd said.

Lopez-Ayala was arrested outside a McDonald’s in Sterling on Feb. 20, 2025. ICE identified him as a documented member of a notorious criminal gang, a description Cowherd said bore no resemblance to the gentle young man he knew.

“I think the reason there was such a disconnect was because the government was lying,” Cowherd said. “He was not any of those things, and they knew it.”

Advocates urge vigilance and investment in immigrant communities

Immigrant-rights advocates asked residents to monitor federal activity in Northern Virginia and back policies grounded in safety, humanity and the rule of law.

Legal Aid Justice Center attorney Rohmah Javed emphasized those principles, while Centreville Immigration Forum Executive Director Samantha Zaboli called on attendees to transform anger and hopelessness into direct action.

“Use your voice, your talents and the tools you have at your disposal to make sure not one more neighbor is disappeared, not one more family is torn apart, and not one more member of our beloved community is taken,” Zaboli said.

She urged the crowd to invest in community survival programs and withdraw funding from institutions she said divide people. Zaboli ended her remarks with a call to “abolish ICE,” drawing applause.

ICE funding has become a major obstacle in congressional negotiations over federal spending. Lawmakers face a midnight Friday deadline to prevent a partial government shutdown. A proposed agreement between Senate Democrats and Trump would separate homeland security funding into a two-week measure, allowing additional time for debate.