Jefferson Arpi, 16, of Peekskill, had tears in his eyes at an immigration rally in White Plains Tuesday – one week after he traveled hours by bus to an Alabama jail on Christmas to try to see his father who has been detained by ICE for months.

Apri says when he arrived, he was only allowed to speak to his father in a video chat, which was interrupted by someone inside the jail yelling “build the wall.”

“It just made me feel angry and sad,” Arpi told News 12.

That sadness spurred community leaders to hold the rally as a show of support for the fathers of two Peekskill families, along with at least 25 other men from Westchester, all being detained.

The rally was held just weeks after two migrant children died in federal custody at the U.S.-Mexican border. Organizers told News 12 that the deaths only intensify the urgency for action.

Community leaders say they are petitioning federal lawmakers to try to have some of the men transferred to detention centers in state, so at least they will be closer for future family visits.