Immigration Protests in Minneapolis

As U.S. Border Czar Tom Homan announced on Feb. 12 plans for federal agents to leave the Twin Cities metro area, Catholic leaders in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis acknowledged the need for hope as they look to next steps in the local community.

If one believes in the dignity of unborn human lives, how can one stand by and be silent?" says Twin Cities writer Chris Damian.

Some Catholic women are expressing disappointment that local clergy have kept mostly silent about what's happening in their parishes.

"Living within this limitless love can only bring joy — and inevitably justice. It is what our nation needs today," writes Christine Schenk. Let us embrace Gospel nonviolence, and as the pope suggests, work to change unjust structures.

In his latest single, "Streets of Minneapolis," Bruce Springsteen offers Americans a soundtrack to the liturgy of protest.

"The Greek word 'martyr' literally means 'witness.' The tragic deaths of witnesses like Alex Pretti and Renee Good reveal the darkness around them," writes Bishop Joseph J. Tyson of Yakima, Washington.  

"Whether ICE comes to occupy another of our cities or not, faithful Catholics ought to take a cue from the work of faith leaders and community organizers in Minneapolis," writes Meredith McKay.

Fr. Jim Cassidy, parochial vicar at St. Joan of Arc Parish in Minneapolis, spoke with OSV News a day after joining several faith and community leaders who, along with Minnesota officials, were part of CNN's live Jan. 28 town hall, "State of Emergency: Confronting the Crisis in Minnesota," moderated by journalists Anderson Cooper and Sara Sidner.

The spirit of Mary and Elizabeth, and the joyful mystery of the Visitation, are alive and well in Minnesota. Artist Br. Mickey McGrath reflects on the city of Minneapolis, his second home.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin urges restraint by federal agents as Catholic bishops in the United States criticize immigration enforcement tactics.

Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington joined several interfaith leaders in the nation's capital in denouncing the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis as "murders."

"Moral considerations must determine political ones," writes NCR's Michael Sean Winters, "and for Christians, our moral claims are rooted in a dogmatic claim: The human person is made in the image and likeness of God."

"The question before us is not whether protest belongs in church, but whether the church still belongs to the Gospel it proclaims," writes Kat Armas.

At an outdoor vigil service honoring Alex Pretti and Sunday Masses in Catholic parishes in the Twin Cities, Catholics spoke urgently of the need to stand up against injustice in the current immigration crackdown.

Jesus famously proclaimed, "No one can serve two masters." As the country continues to reel from the shooting of Alex Pretti, Catholics are making it clear who they are choosing to serve. It isn't always Jesus.

The people of Minneapolis are responding and resisting in unspeakably brave, radically loving ways that we will speak of for years to come.

In a reflection delivered during an online interfaith prayer service hosted by Faith in Action, Tobin employed some of the strongest language yet by a U.S. cardinal to condemn the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

Catholic leaders at the national and local levels are calling for calm, prayer and renewed respect for human life following the Jan. 24 killing of Alex Jeffrey Pretti in Minneapolis.

The clergy were issued misdemeanor citations of trespassing and failure to comply with a peace officer and were then released, 

The faith leaders, who hail from across the country and represent a range of religious traditions, deployed to neighborhoods with significant immigrant populations, where DHS agents have been most active.

The question of offering pastoral care to immigrant detainees has become a theological and legal flashpoint since President Donald Trump launched his mass deportation effort last year.

"Ever since the deadly shooting of Renee Good on Portland Avenue last Wednesday, I find myself googling 'Minneapolis' every few hours to learn of the latest developments in a situation that truly tears at the heart," wrote Hebda in his Weekly Word newsletter.

The families are not being inconvenienced by ICE, said Fr. Dale Korogi, pastor of Ascension  Church, they're being harassed, terrorized and traumatized by ICE.

The faith-based networks, which developed organizing infrastructure and relationships during the Floyd era, are joined by newcomers as resistance efforts have intensified since Good's shooting.

"The deeds of this administration have stood in sharp contrast to the reassuring words they have offered to religious believers," writes Steven P. Millies.

It's all just too much, but my faith requires me to show up,' said the Rev. Dana Neuhauser.

An interfaith gathering of faith leaders in Minneapolis Jan. 8 drew a crowd as faith leaders raised concerns about the impact immigration enforcement actions are having on people in the community, including Catholic parishes in Minneapolis.

Authoritarianism thrives on resignation. This is why the most urgent task before us is not simply political opposition, but moral recovery. We must relearn what it means to be a people capable of nonviolent resistance.

After the tragic shooting of Renee Good at the hands of ICE, the Catholic vice president of the United States took to social media to justify the killing.

 "There was a request for clergy to show up" at the scene, said one Minneapolis minister. "I was out the door."

"Following this morning's deadly shooting in Minneapolis, I reiterate my plea for all people of good will to join me in prayer for the person who was killed, for their loved ones, and for our community," Archbishop Bernard Hebda of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis said in a statement following the incident.