People of faith in U.S. resist ICE roundups

When Dan and Emily Coyne attend Sunday services at their church in Evanston, Ill., they bring their Bibles — and their whistles.

The Bibles are so they can follow along with sermons. The whistles are to warn their neighbours if Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are in the area.

“They’re with us all the time,” said Dan Coyne of the whistles that he and his wife, Emily, carry with them to Reba Place Church. “I keep mine in my pocket.”

The church, which is part of Mennonite Church USA, is located in an area targeted by ICE to round up and deport undocumented people. The operation, called Midway Blitz, has resulted in the detentions of more than 600 people since September.

“The whistles are a non-violent way to resist,” said Dan, who works as a social worker at a local school in Evanston.

People blow three short blasts to warn that ICE agents are in the area. Three long blasts are used when people see agents in the process of trying to detain someone. The goal is to draw attention to what is happening and perhaps disrupt the operation.

Church members also hand out cards in English and Spanish for undocumented people that list their rights and indicate who to call if they are detained. The church has a sign on the door to tell ICE and border patrol agents they are not allowed inside unless they have a warrant.

“We want people to feel safe inside our churches,” Dan said.

Altogether, “it’s very frightening,” Emily said, adding that many people are afraid to leave their homes for medical appointments or to buy groceries.

People from the church, and others, also go to home renovation stores to buy materials on behalf of immigrant and undocumented contractors who are working at area homes. “ICE likes to pick up people at Home Depot,” Dan said.

The couple want to be clear that they don’t hate ICE agents. “We pray for everyone, including the agents,” Dan said. “Jesus said to pray for enemies. We take that seriously.”

The couple, who have two grown children, acknowledged their actions could put them in some danger. But they aren’t afraid. “It’s not likely they are going to detain two older white people,” Dan said.

At the same time, the Coynes know what they are doing is not without risk; in October, a Chicago pastor was shot with pepper balls while praying outside an ICE facility.

“We could get hurt, but that might be the cost of following Christ,” said Dan. “We won’t stop caring for our neighbours.”

Here in Canada, we are bombarded with stories of ICE round-ups and detentions. We don’t hear as much about active resistance on the part of people of faith like the Coynes.

In fact, there is a lot of opposition from religious groups. In Chicago, around 100 faith leaders protested outside an ICE detention facility this month. “This is our job,” said the Rev. Kristina Sinks, a United Methodist pastor who helped organize the protest.

For her, the role of clergy is to “advocate for the oppressed, the vulnerable and those dehumanized by any forces of evil and oppression.”

Across the country, 5,000 faith communities signed up with Vote Common Good to learn how clergy and lay leaders could respond to ICE activity in their towns and cities. “Faith traditions call us to welcome the stranger, protect the vulnerable and love our neighbours,” the organization said.

Other actions include a statement from the United Church of Christ, which has denounced ICE raids, calling them a form of “domestic terrorism.” Some Quaker groups have issued legal challenges to ICE’s actions. And the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement condemning mass deportation as a violation of human dignity.

In Charlotte, N.C., where ICE moved after Chicago, around 300 people met at a local church to discuss ways to protect their neighbours and disrupt the planned detention raids. Said the Rev. Matt Conner, pastor at Newell Presbyterian in that city: “When Jesus says the most important commandment is to love God and love neighbour, this is what love of neighbour looks like in this season.”

Stories like this are a reminder that while a majority of Christians in the U.S. voted for Donald Trump in the last presidential election — according to the Pew Research Centre, roughly three-quarters of Trump’s voters identified as Christian — not everyone who claims that faith supports his administration’s actions when it comes to immigrants. There are many people like the Coynes who are putting their faith on the line to help their neighbours.

As Emily put it: “We can’t be silent. This is our neighbourhood and these are our neighbours. We can’t sit still.”

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