Blessed Are the Pepper-Sprayers?
This issue of A Public Witness explores biblical ‘peacemaker’ rhetoric from the Trump administration and how it wildly misrepresents what Jesus actually taught.
Judge Stops Noem From Ending Haitians’ Protected Status, but Fear of ICE Remains
Monday’s ruling came just over 24 hours before TPS status was set to expire for some 350,000 Haitians. The U.S. district judge wrote that DHS Secretary Noem’s ‘approach is many things—in the public interest is not one of them.’
Journalist Don Lemon Has Been Arrested After He Covered a Minnesota Church Protest
The Justice Department’s swift investigation into the church disruption stands in contrast to its decision not to open civil rights investigations into killings by ICE officers.
Maine Clergy Form Spiritual ‘Shield’ Outside Workplaces to Protect Immigrants From ICE
Like religious leaders in cities such as Minneapolis, Chicago, and elsewhere, local clergy were quick to muster resistance to the rapid influx of immigration enforcement agents, even as they wrangle with the unusual geography of Maine.
Faith Leaders Criticize Trump Administration’s Removal of Philadelphia Slavery Exhibit
One of the removed panels featured images of Richard Allen and Absalom Jones. Both born as enslaved persons, they were instrumental in starting their churches.
GOP Judge Blasts ICE Pastor for ‘Extraordinary’ Court Order Violations
On Monday, the top federal judge in Minnesota issued a blistering critique of three Trump administration officials for repeatedly violating court orders. One of the three is David Easterwood, the acting director of the St. Paul ICE field office. Easterwood is also a pastor at Cities Churches in St. Paul.
Protests Inside Churches Are Unusual Despite Long History of Civil Disobedience in the US
Many faith leaders were dismayed when the government announced last January that federal immigration agencies can make arrests in churches, schools, and hospitals, ending the protection of people in sensitive spaces.
Inside the Effort to Organize Clergy Nationwide to Resist ICE
Hundreds of clergy from around the country gathered in Minneapolis to learn from Minnesota faith leaders how to protest against ICE enforcement. Then they took to the streets and helped block the city’s airport.
Hundreds of Clergy Descend on Minneapolis and Go on Lookout for ICE
The faith leaders, who hail from across the country and represent a range of religious traditions, deployed to neighborhoods with significant immigrant populations, where DHS agents have been most active.
Minnesota Church Protest Leader Nekima Levy Armstrong Arrested, Say Federal Officials
Viral video of the protest shows activists standing up during the middle of a service at Cities Church and calling for the ousting of David Easterwood, a pastor at the Southern Baptist church who is also acting director of the St. Paul ICE field office.