Jack Jenkins

Rumors and viral reports about potential ICE raids have immigrant church leaders worried about their congregations. DHS says it doesn’t have plans to raid churches — but won't rule it out.

As many as 500 people, a mix of clergy and other volunteers, have appeared at the training sessions on how to counter ICE.

"I'm seeing almost a revival of Christianity through what's happening at Broadview in Chicago," the Rev. David Black said.

"I've got bruises all over my body," the Rev. Michael Woolf, who was thrown to the ground and arrested by police, said.

Like his five fellow defendants, Brian Straw was flanked by supporters as he entered the courtroom at the Everett Dirksen federal courthouse on Wednesday (Nov. 12) for his arraignment on charges related to protests that have taken place for weeks outside an immigrant processing facility in Broadview.

 

"It is important that our Catholic detainees are able to receive pastoral care and have access to the sacraments," Bishop Kevin Rhoades told RNS. "Their religious liberty, part of their human dignity, needs to be respected."

The Episcopal Diocese of Texas announced on Saturday (Nov. 1) that one of its priests, a Kenyan national, has been detained by immigration officials despite working in the state legally.

"We will not retreat, and we will use every nonviolent tool at our disposal, to call this nation, this Congress, to stop all of this partisan fighting and get down to the business of the people," said the Rev. William Barber II.

Johnson initially claimed he was not aware of the instances, despite having been directly asked about one of the incidents in a press conference earlier this month.

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?'

Speaking at a recent worship service at the Pentagon, Hegseth said the US needs to be 'in prayer, on bended knee, recognizing the providence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.'

Megachurch pastor Jack Graham was in the middle of his Sunday message to Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, this past weekend when he paused to cue up an unusual sermon illustration. After encouraging people to respond to the killing of conservative Christian activist Charlie Kirk by turning to God, he instructed the congregation to listen to a roughly minute-long audio clip of what sounded like Kirk delivering a short speech.

"I pray millions of young men would become defenders of the faith as a result of this demonic assassination," Arizona pastor Mark Driscoll said in an Instagram post.

Speakers and organizers alike worked to craft a vision for a Christian America that steers clear of anti-Catholicism and, especially, antisemitism.

According to Fr. Emilio Biosca Agüero, a Capuchin Franciscan and pastor at the church, there are seven parishioners currently in detention, including a man in marriage preparation and another in confirmation class. Some, he said, had been detained on their way to the church for catechetical classes over the past few weeks.

The fear of raids has pushed some congregations back to pandemic-era worship strategies.

As the so-called One Big, Beautiful Bill made its way toward congressional approval last month, U.S. Catholic bishops signed their names to not one but two letters to senators on the same day, both airing misgivings. The existence of dueling letters, church observers say, offered a rare public glimpse of a rift that's been years in the making.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops took a firm but mixed approach to the bill, while other Catholic leaders signed an interfaith letter asking senators to oppose the bill.