A coalition of religious groups has asked a federal court to prevent federal immigration agents from raiding houses of worship during the holiday season. The plaintiffs in New England Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, et al., v. Department of…
Maybe you should read the comments because they’re now reality
“Never read the comments,” the sage wisdom of the internet says. That’s especially true on X, where internet trolls thrive unregulated. But sometimes the comments give you a sense of what some segment of the population is thinking and what…
Let’s get this one thing clear
When I talk with conservative friends about immigration in America, the line I most often hear justifying President Donald Trump’s deportation bonanza is that all these people are criminals by virtue of being here without authorization. This reminds me of…
American Baptist leaders praise clergy protesting ICE
Leaders of the American Baptist Home Mission Societies issued a statement Nov. 18 offering support for clergy who have been arrested while protesting ICE, including an American Baptist pastor in the Chicago area. While many Mainline Protestant clergy have been at the…
When activists need to be silent
To everything there is a season, Ecclesiastes says, including a time to be silent and a time to speak. That’s sage advice in our present moment, as recent conversations with two friends illustrate. I’m one of the lucky ones who…
What Kristi Noem and DHS won’t admit about clergy-led protests
Last Thursday night, I had dinner at the home of Baptist pastor Michael Woolf, his wife, Anna Piela, and their young daughter. We ate lasagna that Woolf had cooked. The next morning, a Reuters photo of Woolf’s arrest at a…
Former Charlotte mayor fears, ‘If you look brown, you’re going down’
The strangest thing about driving around Charlotte, N.C., today was how quiet it was. In hours of patrolling the city with a Baptist pastor and layman Nov. 17, we began to notice the absence of foot traffic in neighborhoods normally…
The ICE Age is upon us
Besides water hoses, German Shepherds, Billy clubs and racial epithets, what truly makes today’s ICE agents — dressed like militarized Klansmen and women — any different from yesterday’s state-sanctioned terror? The Ice Age, the one taught in science class, ended…
Muslim artist detained by ICE is being ‘punished’ for his social media posts, his lawyers say
Attorneys for Ya’akub Ira Vijandre, a Filipino artist being held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Georgia, are challenging his detention in court, arguing he is being “punished for his faith, his speech and his political beliefs.”
A conversation with Michael Woolf about ICE and Chicago
On Halloween, ICE agents carried out a number of raids in and around Chicagoland — including in Evanston, home of Lake Street Church, an Alliance of Baptist congregation. In response, Lake Street’s senior pastor, Michael Woolf, joined protests at the…
Let justice roll down like sandwiches
“Jurors Say Baloney to Claim that Sandwich Hurler Tried to Harm Federal Agent” That’s how The New York Times introduced a report detailing the government case against Sean C. Dunn, age 37, a former paralegal in the Department of Justice…
Trump plans call center in Nashville to deport children
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to escalate the Trump administration’s child deportation campaign with a call center in Nashville, Tenn. “In the notice posted to a government contracting website on Tuesday, ICE officials said there is an ‘immediate need’…