We Shall Overcome: Religious Resistance to ICE

Last updated on: January 10, 2026 at 1:42 pm by Andrew Chesnut

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We Shall Overcome: Religious Resistance to ICE 2026-01-10T13:42:17-05:00 Andrew Chesnut

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In the unfolding story of immigration enforcement in the United States, what once functioned as a quiet arm of federal bureaucracy has become deeply religious terrain*.* From prayer vigils at federal detention facilities to interfaith statements condemning state violence, faith communities have stepped into direct confrontation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). For these believers, resistance to ICE is not a political accessory to faith -it is faith in action, rooted in scripture, embodied in ritual, and lived out in community. At the core of this resistance lies a theological claim: every human life bears sacred worth, and no policy or border can erase that divine imprint.

The Execution of Renée Good

The recent fatal shooting of Renée Nicole Good, a 37-year-old Christian mother and writer in Minneapolis, became a flashpoint for religious outrage and grief. Good was shot three times at point-blank range and killed by an irate ICE agent during an enforcement operation, ripping congregations across denominations into public mourning. Video and eyewitness accounts, and responses from local leaders, fueled profound questions about enforcement tactics and human dignity at the margins of U.S. society.

The grief spilled into church sanctuaries. Clergy and lay leaders anchored public grief in religious ritual -holding vigils, candlelight prayer services, and communal lamentations that cited the sacredness of life and the imperative to protect the vulnerable. Christian activists framed Good’s life and death in spiritual terms: not as a policy statistic but as a neighbor made in the image of God, whose life was snuffed out amid fear and surveillance. Pastorally grounded, these responses invoked the tradition of lament in Hebrew scripture, where communal grief invites moral transformation and prophetic challenge.

In Chicago, the clash between religious resistance and federal enforcement took on a uniquely public form—drawing in one of the nation’s most visible Catholic leaders, Cardinal Blase J. Cupich**.** Instead of confining his response to abstract statements, Cupich entered the fray with clear moral critique of ICE tactics and support for congregational resistance.

During a series of protests and religious processions near the ICE processing facility in Broadview, Illinois, Chicago Catholics attempted to bring holy Communion to detainees and to accompany immigrants spiritually and physically on their way into detention. When priests and lay faithful carrying the Eucharist were denied access to detainees, Cupich publicly condemned the use of “unnecessarily aggressive tactics” by federal agents, insisting that enforcement policies must be conducted in ways that respect human dignity in equal measure with national security.

In official statements, Cupich criticized what he described as “unnecessary… tactics” that risked terrorizing communities rather than fulfilling a noble calling of law enforcement. He reaffirmed that keeping the nation safe and respecting human dignity are not mutually exclusive — and that the Church would not remain silent when dignity was denied.

Cupich also took his critique beyond a single incident. In October 2025, he publicly urged U.S. Catholic bishops to issue a special united message denouncing indiscriminate deportations and calling for comprehensive reform, an unusual collective stand for the hierarchy. He declared that forcing immigrants to live in fear in their own neighborhoods was incompatible with the deepest values of American life and Catholic teaching.

This pastoral leadership was mirrored in parish life: parishioners at St. Jerome Church formed human chains to ensure immigrant families could safely enter and exit Mass, and parish processions carried the Eucharist toward detention gates with hymns and rosaries.

For many of Cupich’s allies, his engagement was not simply rhetorical. It signaled that a senior Church leader was willing to link Catholic identity and sacramental presence with direct resistance to enforcement practices that traumatized immigrant communities. Amid these protests, Chicago’s clergy and lay faithful made common cause across denominational lines -Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, and interfaith partners- echoing the broader theological claim that faith demands witness*.*

Clergy on the Frontlines

This resistance on the ground is not merely abstract debate but is shaped by the voices of those who gather, pray, and act:

Rev. Juan Vargas, pastor of Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in Chicago, described how Latino parishioners were afraid to leave home, let alone attend Mass, because of ICE presence in their neighborhoods. Parish communication in Spanish and English became a lifeline, not just for spiritual sustenance but for guidance on how to navigate fear.

Rabbi Rachel Weiss of the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston, where I went to high school, drew on Jewish moral memory to describe the fear ignited by enforcement actions, saying it felt “not so different than Germany 1938,” a stark metaphor for why her congregation prioritizes solidarity work with immigrants.

Rami Nashashibi, executive director of the Inner-City Muslim Action Network, has emphasized justice as a shared religious imperative and stressed interfaith alliances as essential to sustainable resistance.

In Chicago protests outside Broadview, congregational leaders and lay members alike struggled with the toll of resistance – some suffering injuries or arrest, others simply bearing witness in prayer and song. These everyday voices highlight that for many houses of worship, resistance is not a fringe protest but part of routine pastoral care.

Public Witnessing as Faith in Action

The presence of religious leaders in direct confrontation with state power has a storied history in the U.S. -abolitionists, civil rights activists, and early sanctuary movement leaders- all challenged state authority from the pulpit and the street. What distinguishes the current moment is the scope and visibility of this resistance: from Minneapolis to Chicago, faith communities are combining theological reflection with embodied witness in public space.

This resistance, whether articulated through a cardinal’s public critique or the whispered prayers of a rosary held near a detention facility fence, shares a unifying claim: that human dignity stands above bureaucratic categories, that faith obliges action, and that the Church is called to bear witness where fear and violence threaten life**.**

In these contested spaces, prayer becomes protest, protest becomes prayer, and the sacred call to “welcome the stranger” echoes from pews to street corners -reminding the nation that faith still has a powerful voice in shaping public conscience and resisting systemic injustice.

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