‘We don’t want this to happen to any other family’

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, March 4, 2026

Nearly 100 people attended a vigil in Soldotna Sunday evening for Sonia Espinoza Arriaga and her three children who were deported last month by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

According to the Rev. Meredith Harber with Christ Lutheran Church in Soldotna, one attendee counted 93 people present at Soldotna Creek Park amidst below-freezing temperatures.

Harber said Monday that people attending the “candlelight” vigil gathered using different sources of light, from battery-powered candles to glow sticks, camp lanterns, headlamps and cell phones — “whatever people could pull to add light.” The vigil was facilitated by retired Pastor Karen Martin Tichenor, who previously served at the Soldotna United Methodist Church.

“There were moments of silence mixed in with three prayers — one prayer for the family, one prayer for our community, and one prayer for our government and for the politicians figuring out how to make the world make sense right now,” Harber said.

Arriaga’s husband, Alexander Sanchez-Ramos — a Soldotna resident and U.S. citizen — was also present during the vigil.

“He had Sonia on FaceTime the whole time so she could see the community showing up for her and her family,” Harber said.

Arriaga and her two youngest children — ages 16 and 5 — are currently in the state of Jalisco in Mexico, which is experiencing unrest and violence following the Mexican government’s killing of a cartel leader last month. Arriaga’s oldest son — 18-year-old Alexis — is still being held in an ICE detention facility in Tacoma, Washington.

Arriaga provided a message to those gathered for the vigil, which Harber said was read aloud in both Spanish and English by a volunteer on Sunday. In it, Arriaga thanked the community that had rallied around her and her family.

“I want to thank you with all my heart,” she wrote. “My family and I are grateful for all the help and blessings you have given us. The situation we are going through has not been easy. We are separated from my son Alexis, and that makes me very anxious. Thanks to God and to you, I now know where my son is and that he is okay. I have been able to speak with him, and that gives me a little peace.

“But on the other hand, my husband is very sad. Every day he speaks to me crying because he misses his family, just as we miss him. What happened feels like a nightmare that I wish I could wake up from. We lost our stability; we lost everything. Thank you very much for all your support, and to all those people who, without knowing us, opened their hearts to us. We will always be grateful. We are not bad people; we are hardworking. We did not come to cause any harm to the state—on the contrary. Thank you very, very much.”

Harber said that the vigil was both a message of support for the Arriaga-Ramos family and a statement that the community “(doesn’t) want this to happen to any other family.”

Community members also attended a virtual training session hosted by ACLU Alaska, “Know Your Responsibilities: Immigration Enforcement and Bystander Training,” last Thursday. The two-part session was geared toward people who interact with immigrants and refugees, such as service providers, educators, community organizations, business owners and faith leaders, to review their rights and responsibilities when interacting with immigration law enforcement in a professional setting. The session also provided an opportunity for concerned members of the public to learn how to safely intervene and assist community members interacting with federal immigration officials.

The Christ Lutheran Church in Soldotna will host another community meeting in support of Arriaga and her family on Sunday, March 8 at 6 p.m. Organized by Harber and Many Voices Alaska, this event was scheduled following requests from members of the public.

Christ Lutheran Church will also host a Zoom meeting with Margaret Stock, an immigration attorney at Cascadia Cross Border Law Group LLC in Anchorage, on March 21 from 2-4 p.m. This event is open to the public and will be an informational session on immigration law.

Additional information on upcoming events is available on the Many Voices Facebook page or by contacting manyvoicesak@gmail.com.