WEST BLOOMFIELD, N.Y. – As ICE raids continue, protests are also emerging. One such protest is planned for Wednesday morning in Batavia.
Rev. Leah Ntuala has embarked on a 78-mile walk from Seneca Falls to the ICE detention center in Batavia. The journey, which she began on Sunday, takes her along State Routes 20 and 5.
“For me personally right now, immigration, because it’s such a system that’s not really understood by a lot of citizens unless you participate in it, because it’s not something we go through because we’re citizens. And there’s a lot of misinformation out there,” Ntuala said.
She also said Minnesota’s deadly lawmaker shooting got her thinking about how to use her voice. “It really planted this seed for me as a minister, as a Christian, and, you know, like all ideas brew over time and, you know, it has all the sort of influences. But when Vance Boelter, who is a Christian nationalist, member of the New Apostolic Reformation and turned out to be pastor is what was discovered after, he killed the Minnesota lawmakers and had a hit list. I was just like I was devastated and started to talk to other colleagues in ministry to say, I feel like we should be very outspoken against this.”
Despite her experience with marathons and triathlons, Ntuala faced unexpected challenges on her walk. “Being in the sun all day, being in a slight tilt on the road, in the shoulder. So it throws off your game. All those things I wasn’t prepared for. If you ask me. If I get blisters, I would have told you no. Yes, I do,” she said.
Ntuala has been documenting her journey on Facebook, aiming to spread her message and encourage others to join her. “What I’m hoping is next is that other people will find ways to do something out of the ordinary while the ordinary continues,” she said. She emphasized the importance of continued protests and other forms of dissent.
Ntuala’s journey has not been a solitary one, as she has been joined by others along the way. “That has been incredible, overwhelming. I was like, if I focus on it too much, I’ll start to cry. So I mean, I’ve just been surprised. Everything has been positive from people, and I’ve hardly ever had a stretch where I was alone yet in that whole time,” she said.
Ntuala has been taking rest breaks at churches and expressed gratitude for the support from fellow pastors.
“One of the places I’m staying in, a church, in two of the places I’m staying with people who are connected to my church friends. So no strangers. Nobody that is not vetted, I guess and, even that is it is overwhelmingly supportive, you know, what they’re providing with breakfast or the dinner for the night and, it’s incredible because when you’re walking that that long, you know that your body needs to eat and drink. But you don’t feel like doing either,” Ntuala added.
She hopes to reach Batavia by Tuesday night. The protest in Batavia is scheduled for 10 a.m. July 2nd.
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