Day of Remembrance 2026 – Vigil at Broadview ICE Facility
On Japanese American Day of Remembrance 2/19/2026, JACL Chicago and Nikkei Uprising were honored to stand vigil outside of Broadview ICE facility alongside members of our community and the community at Broadview. We believe that everyone deserves freedom from violence and safety, regardless of citizenship status. We condemn the harm that has been done to our friends and neighbors detained at Broadview and across the nation, and to those who have stood up for them.
Many thanks to our moving speakers: the Rev. Kenji Kuramitsu, Priest Associate of St. Paul and the Redeemer; incarceration camp survivor Tonko Doi; lawyer and Broadview organizer Scott Sakiyama; Brandon Lee, communications director at ICIRR; poet Anne Watanabe; and Patti Nakai, the former Reverend of Buddhist Temple of Chicago, for leading our incense ritual.
The parallels between state violence now and in 1942, when Executive Order 9066 was passed, cannot be denied. We encourage our Japanese American community to activate and be the allies today that we needed during WWII. Families belong together! Never again is now.
Photo by Alec Ozawa
Press Clips
We are honored to have had our Day of Remembrance vigil covered in the Chicago Tribune and by Borderless Magazine. Please also read this Tribune op-ed by Julie Morita, whose parents were incarcerated at Minidoka.