Amidst the holiday festivities, there has been a wave of activism among places of worship protesting the cruelty dealt by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Multiple places of worship around the nation have expressed their disapproval of ICE through Nativity scene displays. Nativity scenes are used within the Christian faith to depict when Mary, Joseph and an infant Jesus (often referred to as the “Holy Family”) were welcomed to stay in an inn’s stable for refuge. The Nativity scene protest displays show the juxtaposition of the birth of Jesus and how the Holy Family was welcomed, against how families in the United States are being torn apart and deported.
After Thanksgiving, St. Susanna’s Parish in Dedham, Mass. replaced the traditional display of a Nativity scene with a sign saying “ICE was here.” The absence of the Holy Family was to imply that ICE agents abducted Jesus and his family. This sign was a way to protest how families in the United States are detained and disappear daily. This is not the first time St. Susanna’s Parish has protested the Trump Administration’s immigration policies. In 2018, the church depicted a Nativity scene with the infant Jesus trapped inside a cage, drawing parallels to how immigrant children were detained inside cages at the southern border. Both displays have stirred controversy, but Father Josoma of St. Susanna’s Parish has stated that the church hoped to “create dialogue around contemporary life.”
Other churches have protested the inhumane treatment meted out by ICE agents. In Evanston, IL, Lake Street Church had their Nativity scene vandalized after showing Mary in a gas mask, alluding to tear gas used by ICE agents, and an infant Jesus with his hands zip-tied. The vandalizers smashed and destroyed the statue of Mary. Rev. Michael Woolf of Lake Street Church proclaimed that “vandalism isn’t going to keep us from our message.” Instead of replacing the statue of Mary, the church put up a sign saying that Mary “didn’t make it” to show how families are separated due to stringent anti-immigrant policies.
A display at the Missiongathering Church in Charlotte, NC, shows masked ICE agents with handcuffs surrounding the Holy Family. That display was vandalized as well. In River Forest, IL, Urban Village Church West depicted an empty manger with only a sign saying “[d]ue to ICE activity in our community, the Holy Family is in hiding.” In Dallas, TX, Oaklawn United Methodist Church had the “Holy Family” surrounded by a fence topped with razor wire to draw parallels to the detention centers that trap immigrants.
The protests in various art forms elicit strong responses. The Nativity scene displays allow us to reflect on what is occurring within our country currently. There are a myriad of stories reporting people who are being terrorized and abused at the hands of ICE agents. Places of worship are showing their solidarity with the community by peacefully protesting the mistreatment that ICE and the Department of Homeland Security are causing throughout the nation.
