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Vijay D’Souza was trying to get home to Medford in August when he was allegedly detained by federal agents.
The longtime First Baptist Church member is believed to have been detained in the Atlanta, Georgia, airport by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and is reportedly being held in a detention center in Atlanta. Medford city councilors, in an attempt to support D’Souza and bring attention to the actions of ICE, unanimously approved a resolution Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, calling for D’Souza’s immediate release.
“Vijay D'Souza demonstrates that our national debate on immigration isn't merely some abstract concept or some national issue that doesn't touch us at home,” said Councilor Justin Tseng. “It shows how far this debate has gone … it has gone way, way overboard.”
City Councilor Matt Leming said council members received an email from Pastor Gregory Sakal alerting them that D’Souza had been “abducted” by ICE agents in Atlanta while boarding a flight back to Boston.
“We don’t know much about the specifics of the case, just that he was in the middle of acquiring a green card to become a legal permanent resident when this happened,” Leming said. “His wife Rachel, who sings in the choir, is now stuck in Atlanta trying to arrange his legal defense.”
Leming said Sakel is also spearheading a campaign for members of First Baptist to write letters in support of D’Souza to be used at his court hearing.
Tseng said he had a chance to read a number of the letters written on D’Souza’s behalf and they show a man who is deeply woven into his community, a man who cooks for the congregation and sticks around to help clean up, helps organize holiday gift drives to benefit struggling families, and is serving on a committee searching for the church’s next pastor.
“That is what detention like this does,” Tseng said. “It doesn’t just remove one person; it creates a hole, a tear in our community."
Resident Eileen Learner agreed. She said that when a person is removed from the community by ICE it leaves a lot of room for grief, and not just for family and friends.
“We lose their talents, we lose their abilities, we lose their taxes, we lose everything,” she said. “And not only are people leaving because they've been deported, but there are a lot of people who have also left the country because they don't want to live in fear… and I just want to say the ripples of this disastrous federal government are hurting everybody because we are a community that cares.”
Not an isolated incident
Javi Siddiqui said she is proof that the system, when operated correctly, works. She received her citizenship eight years ago but now can’t help but look back and think that she could very well have ended up like D’Souza. She could have been taken during any one of the interviews she underwent, she said.
"Picking up your life and moving to a place that’s not your own, where people don’t look like you is hard, and this is a country of immigrants, regardless of how people may or may not feel about that, that’s the reality,” she said.
Siddiqui said people, including those on her street, may not realize it but the city is being hit hard by ICE, and people are being picked up at the courthouse.
“While we don't see it on our streets outside, like they did in Minneapolis, it is 100 percent an issue here in the city, and we should really be doing something about it, and being much more vocal about it.”
Leming also said ICE abductions have not subsided in Medford, it’s just been spoken of with less frequency.
“We have a new head of the Department of Homeland Security who seems to be able to conduct them without making so many waves in the news, which is sinister in itself,” he said.
And the repetitive nature of the events is all the more reason to continue shedding light on them, he added.
Standing together
A number of residents thanked the council for taking up the ICE issue.
The council’s resolution is a reminder that people need to step up when things like this happen, said resident Simon Alcindor. It also offers reassurances to those who are afraid to leave their homes, let alone to attend a City Council meeting to speak out, without fear of being detained, he said.
While Micah Kesselman applauded the council for its resolution, he also said he found it infuriating that the presence and actions of ICE in Medford were not being discussed at every City Council meeting.
“All the other garbage I'm involved with, and that the council's involved with, and that is happening, it pales in comparison to the urgency of people who are being snatched up by unlawful, fascistic, terrible people, and being just disappeared on a regular basis,” he said. “So I appreciate you very much taking up this resolution.”
He also wanted to remind residents that there are people who, unlike D’Souza, don’t have family or community looking out for them.
“We need the entire community to help be on guard for this and do what we can to watch out for our neighbors,” Kesselman said.
West Medford resident Ray Bennett said that while D’Souza is not a personal friend, she can relate because she comes from a family “where fascist abductions have decimated my family tree.”
“So this is a reminder that while we are doing everything that we can for Vijay… we have to do this for everyone,” Bennett said. “Democracy will die in silence, but fascism will only die if we get really, really loud.”
“It is important for us to keep talking about it because the people whose lives are affected only have one life, and they should be allowed to live it like anyone else,” said City Councilor Emily Lazzaro.
Josh Eckert-Lee also pointed out another way that residents are showing up, and that is by calling a hotline when they see what they believe is ICE in action.
“And the hotline number is 617-370-5023,” he said. “So anyone listening or in the room, that is a way you can get involved and make sure we're sort of keeping ourselves safe because it's our job.”
