On Sunday afternoon, I was in Dallas preparing for our FaithWorks board meeting. I had just left Royal Lane Baptist Church and a screening of Jesus Was a Migrant, a film featuring our work, when I saw a notification of…
The corruption of US immigration enforcement
The single most corrupt thing so far about the current United States federal government under this president is the corruption of the immigration enforcement bureaucracy. There are many competitors for this sad award, but at the level of government policy,…
Seven Vermont Clergy Arrested While Protesting ICE Targeting Center
Seven faith leaders were arrested in Williston, Vermont, on Friday morning (Sept. 4), for blockading the entrances to a building where workers help immigration agents target their efforts, with the clergy insisting their faith compels them to oppose President Donald…
Trump admin must prove it didn’t violate injunction against Baptist church
The Trump administration must prove to a federal judge that its surveillance of a Baptist church and other congregations did not violate an injunction barring the government’s clandestine efforts. U.S. District Judge Dennis Saylor in Massachusetts scheduled a Sept. 4…
Baptist minister among six jailed for protesting ICE in Missouri
An 81-year-old Baptist minister, author and former Southern Baptist state organization official was one of six people recently arrested for protesting immigration enforcement at the Greene County Sheriff’s Office in Springfield, Mo. Robert Lee Perry and his fellow protesters were…
Study documents ICE hiring violent criminals as agents
At least 152 federal immigration agents have been charged with or convicted of violent crimes including rape, kidnapping, child molestation and murder at some time in their lives, according to a new report by the Ohio Immigration Alliance. The organization…
Clergy rally for Haitians in Maryland county amid fears of ICE surge
A week after a local pastor claimed the large Haitian community in his town was being targeted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, the Rev. William Barber, a prominent civil rights activist, joined local faith leaders and dozens of…
A clergy call to preserve our democracy
The last time I was in Minneapolis, the city was under siege. In January, I came to Minneapolis on behalf of Baptist News Global. I arrived two weeks after Renée Nicole Good — a U.S. citizen and mother of three…
DHS claims it did not violate court order by spying on Baptist church
The Trump administration claims its spy mission in a Baptist church did not violate an injunction barring immigration actions on or around the property because its operative infiltrated a gathering other than a worship service, according to an Aug. 23…
Undercover ICE agent spies on Baptist church
Leaders and members of a Minnesota Baptist church were stunned and angered to learn recently that an undercover immigration agent entered their facilities to spy on the congregation in May. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer reportedly entered University Baptist…
Fourth Circuit upholds order protecting houses of worship from ICE
A Trump administration policy that gives immigration officers free rein to carry out enforcement actions at or near the houses of worship was blocked again today by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit today. The Aug. 18…
Would Jesus zap children with shock gloves?
We now have reached the stage in MAGA’s descent into depravity where they respond to criticism of ICE vigilantes shooting people by opting for the more humane practice of electric shock. On Aug. 11, the Associated Press reported that Immigration and Customs…