Religious leaders in Minnesota demand calm after ICE disruption

Several faith leaders have called urgently for protecting the rights of worshippers while expressing compassion for migrants after anti-immigration enforcement protesters disrupted a service at a Southern Baptist church in Minnesota.

About three dozen protesters entered the church during Sunday service at the Cities Church in St. Paul, some walking right up to the pulpit, others loudly chanting “ICE out” and “Renee Good,” referring to a woman who was fatally shot on January 7 by an ICE agent in Minneapolis during an immigration enforcement operation.

One of the church’s pastors, David Easterwood, leads the local field office for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

In a statement, the Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention called what happened "an unacceptable trauma.”

“I believe we must be resolute in two areas: encouraging our churches to provide compassionate pastoral care to these (migrant) families and standing firm for the sanctity of our houses of worship,” Trey Turner, who leads the convention, told AP on Monday.

The US Department of Justice said Sunday it has opened a civil rights investigation.

The recent surge in operations in Minnesota has pitted more than 2,000 federal immigration officers against a mobilised network of community activists and protesters. The Trump Administration and Minnesota officials have traded blame for the heightened tensions.

“No cause — political or otherwise — justifies the desecration of a sacred space or the intimidation and trauma inflicted on families gathered peacefully in the house of God,” Kevin Ezell, president of the North American Mission Board, said in a statement.

Divergent opinions

There are divergent opinions among and within US Christian denominations on whether the imperative is to care for the stranger and the neighbor or to obey laws and emphasise security.

Broadly, white evangelical churches have supported stronger enforcement, while the Catholic hierarchy has spoken strongly in favour of migrant rights.

The Southern Baptist Convention is the largest Protestant denomination in the US and has a conservative evangelical theology.

Miles Mullin, who leads the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, said faith leaders can and often have led protests on social issues but that he urges a firm “red line” on actions keeping others from worshipping.

“This is something that just shouldn’t happen in America,” Mullin said.

Many faith leaders were dismayed when the Trump administration announced last January that federal immigration agencies could make arrests at churches, schools and hospitals, ending broader policies that protected sensitive spaces.

While no immigration raids during church services have been reported, some churches, including those in the Twin Cities, have posted notices on their doors saying no ICE or Border Patrol agents are allowed inside. Others have reported a drop in attendance, particularly during enforcement surges.

Following the protest in Cities Church, Harmeet Dhillon, the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the US Department of Justice, posted on social media that there “is zero tolerance for this kind of illegal behavior & we will not stand for it.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the protest despicable, warning in a social media post that “President Trump will not tolerate the intimidation and harassment of Christians in their sacred places of worship.”