Candles flickered on the steps of the Clatsop County Courthouse on Friday night as more than two dozen people gathered for a what they called “Vigil for the Disappeared.”

The gathering, hosted by North Coast Action, provided a space to recognize the hundreds of people who have been deported without due process under the Trump administration.

In March, the administration deported more than 200 Venezuelans to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, including more than 100 people expelled under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act. The act, which has previously only been used three times during war, gives the president power to detain and deport noncitizens from enemy nations without usual rights, such as a hearing.

 

One name that has gained national attention is Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadorean citizen who lived in Maryland with his wife and children. Officials admitted that Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported to the prison due to an administrative error, but have refused to bring him back despite a U.S. Supreme Court order to return him.

“It just breaks my heart,” vigil participant Deb Vanasse said.

At the vigil, Vanasse and others read poems and spoke the names of the Venezuelan deportees from a list stretching 10 pages long. Em Feldman-Adams, the event’s organizer, said she hopes local action can have an impact — however small it may be.

“It’s a small effort, but we just felt like it was important to come out and do something, to be raising awareness,” she said. “And our hope is that by the end of the night, we’ll have people inspired, and maybe people will continue doing this until the disappeared actually get sent home.”