SNL, Congress, and a Newsletter
Join us as we celebrate five years of our ‘A Public Witness’ newsletter and highlight the best from the 115 pieces we’ve published over the past 12 months exploring the intersection of faith, culture, and politics.
After Court Battles, Clergy Visit ICE Detainees in Illinois and Minnesota
In the last week, faith leaders were offered some of their first glimpses into ICE facilities, making use of a degree of access denied to most people — even members of Congress.
His Arrest Went Viral. Now Rev. Michael Woolf Is Preaching What He Calls ‘Sanctuary Values.’
The photo of his arrest during a protest against ICE has given the Chicago-area pastor a platform to share a theology that centers immigrants and that harkens back to the Sanctuary Movement of the 1980's.
Survey: Support for Trump’s Immigration Agenda Craters With All Faith Groups, Especially Mainline Protestants
The new PRRI survey finds support for Trump’s immigration agenda weakened even among his steadfast supporters: White evangelicals and White Catholics.
Progressive Faith Leaders Found New Power in Protesting ICE. Can Their Movement Survive Success?
Not since the Civil Rights Era has the religious left so publicly and collaboratively protested in the name of a social question they regard as a spiritual one.
Judge Grants Minneapolis Clergy Access to Detainees in ICE Holding Facility
'This is one important step in our struggle for justice and my call to live out Jesus’s command to care for the captives,' said the Rev. Susie Hayward, who is cited in the legal case and was in court for the ruling.
Clergy Seek Court Order to Allow Pastoral Access to Immigrants Held at Minneapolis ICE Facility
U.S. District Judge Jerry Blackwell will hear Friday from attorneys for Minnesota branches of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the United Church of Christ, and a Catholic priest.
Minnesota Faith Groups Sue DHS Over Access to Immigrant Detainees
It's at least the second lawsuit challenging the federal government's policy of barring faith leaders from accessing some Department of Homeland Security facilities.
Bay Area Pastor, Shot With a Pepper Round, Files $5M Claim Against Federal Government
Rev. Jorge Bautista is seeking $5 million in damages from the federal government and plans to sue the unnnamed agent individually.
Charges Dropped Against Some Clergy Arrested for Protesting DHS in Chicago
DHS has openly mocked the largely mainline Protestant protesters. A spokesperson referred to a minister as ‘pastor’ in air-quotes, and the agency referred to demonstrators at a faith-led protest as ‘imbecilic morons’ who needed to ‘get a job.’