Fourteen people take a lap around 26 Federal Plaza on a Thursday morning, all in silence. Then, they take six more laps.
Three faith leaders guide the walk, rosaries dangling from their hands. Every time they get to the front of the building there is a brief pause: with their hands lifted towards the sky, they pray. Walkers have a wide range of ages—the youngest participant carries a backpack shaped like a Teddy Bear.
Nicknamed the “Jericho Walk” —the ritual of taking seven silent laps across New York’s immigration court — has become a weekly occurrence in the city. This weekly event is organized by the New Sanctuary Coalition, a non-profit, grassroots immigrant rights organization, a group of faith leaders and city residents that walk to symbolically stand with those facing arrests and deportations by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement…