The suit was primarily brought by journalists who allege they have been targeted by federal agents, but the list of plaintiffs also included the Rev. David Black, a Chicago-area Presbyterian minister.
Despite potential danger, religious leaders and faith activists have been a visible presence at Chicago-area ICE protests, some waving signs with slogans such as ‘Love thy neighbor’ and ‘Who would Jesus deport?’
The Trump administration’s deportation of more than a hundred Iranians held in ICE custody includes Christian converts and other religious minorities who may face harsh penalties for their religious beliefs upon return.
As immigrants increasingly fear detention at ICE check-ins, many faith groups have doubled down on accompaniment strategies to support them at those appointments.
A group of leaders representing multiple religious traditions came together to call on Gov. Mike DeWine to intervene in the detention and possible deportation of Ayman Soliman, a beloved chaplain at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
‘God is with us, and God will never leave us,’ Abrego told the crowd. ‘God will bring justice to all of the injustice that we are suffering.’
Clergy are accompanying immigrants to court appointments to provide comfort and information and, in cases where their worst fears are realized, to pick up the pieces of a shattered American dream.
Mara Richards Bim, the new Justice and Advocacy Fellow at Royal Lane Baptist Church in Dallas, spoke about how to bridge what we talk about in church and political action.
This issue of A Public Witness looks behind the unmarked cars to see the chilling impact of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids on pastors, churches, and communities.
This issue of A Public Witness opens up DHS’s social media in one hand and an actual Bible in the other to consider the competing faiths.