Colorado Jews Hold Passover Grief Vigil Outside GEO Detention Center in Aurora

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Photo by Medill DC

Wednesday, April 8, at 6 pm

Contact: Devin Seligsohn | 720.429.9074 | [email protected]

GEO Detention Facility, 3130 Oakland St, Aurora, CO 80010

Instagram @denverboulderjvp

Roughly 100 local members of Denver/Boulder Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and allies plan to participate in a Passover Vigil to free the immigrants detained inside, linking Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) violence with Israel’s genocide of Palestinians. The organizers connect movements for immigrant rights, Palestinian and Jewish rights, and ultimately call for the collective liberation of all.

Aurora, CO (April 8, 2026) —Denver/Boulder JVP members to lead a Passover Grief Vigil outside the infamous GEO detention facility, remembering all those killed in ICE custody. Participants will rally to demand an end to inhumane treatment inside the facility and collective liberation for all people unjustly detained from Colorado to Palestine.

• What: Jewish faith leaders and community members will lead a Passover Yizkor ritual outside GEO Detention Center in Aurora, which is known for some of the most inhumane conditions of all ICE detention facilities across the country. People gathering will grieve together through Jewish ritual for all individuals killed by ICE and rally outside the detention center to demand better conditions and treatment for those in custody and freedom for all people unjustly detained due to fascist laws and imperialist institutions across the globe.
• Who: AFSC (American Friends Service Committee), CORNN (Colorado Rapid Response Network), Shut Down GEO, USPCN (US Palestinian Community Network), and members of Denver/Boulder JVP. Participants will include Jewish faith leaders and community members, human rights advocates, descendants of Holocaust survivors, students, elders, and immigrant rights activists.
• When: Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at 6 pm
• Where: 3130 Oakland St, Aurora, CO 80010, south side of the building
• Why: Local members of JVP and allies to grieve together as a community during the traditional Passover Yizkor ritual. While Yizkor is traditionally recited in a synagogue, JVP members will hold the prayer service publicly outside the detention facility to express support for local immigrant communities experiencing state violence and displacement — similar to Jewish communities that have faced state-sanctioned violence and antisemitism throughout history.

The organizers condemn the collaboration between U.S. federal law enforcement and Israeli military in training exchange programs, which utilize shared enforcement tactics and lawlessness. Trump and Netanyahu are present-day Pharaohs. Many Coloradan Jews honor this Passover by continuing to forge solidarity with all people committed to collective liberation and fight for a future of freedom & safety for all. “I’m here to say ICE OUT and Free Palestine. None of us is free until all of us are free. When they come for one, they face us all.” – Devin Seligsohn, Jewish Voice for Peace

Media welcome: Interviews will be available with Michael Kengmana and Al Cannington; visuals include banners that read, “Free them all,” “Melt ICE,” “Come for one, face us all,” handmade poppies tied to the fence to represent Palestine and all oppressed people, and singing during the vigil.

Background: Yizkor is a memorial prayer service honoring the deceased that is recited four times a year, including on the final night of Passover, a holiday dedicated to commemorating the Jewish people’s struggles against oppression. The Passover story teaches that in every generation there are Pharaohs who oppress the people. And, in every generation, there are people who stand firm in what is right and rise up for freedom.

U.S. law enforcement collaborates with the Israeli military and Israeli police through a range of actors that include private companies, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies. This has encompassed exchange programs, training partnerships, and the purchase and use of Israeli spyware and surveillance technologies. Critics, including JVP, have denounced this collaboration as encouraging military and counterterror tactics by federal immigration officers and continuing imperialist violence in both the U.S. and occupied Palestine.

The Passover story teaches about having faith and that even in the darkest moments, freedom is still on the horizon. Although this is a time of genocide and fascism, attendees of the vigil will be there to show they are not giving up or ceding power to the authoritarian regimes ascending globally. This community remains steadfast in the fight for freedom for Palestinians and all people.

The Jewish Voice for Peace family of organizations organizes a grassroots, multiracial, cross-class, intergenerational movement of U.S. Jews into solidarity with the Palestinian freedom struggle, guided by a vision of justice, equality, and dignity for all people. Jewish Voice for Peace Action (JVP Action), our 501(c)(4) organization, is now doing business as Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), while our 501(c)(3) work continues through JVP Leadership and Culture Lab (JVP Lab). JVP is the largest progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the world.

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