Courageous Chicagoans who are standing up for their neighbors have, along with other cities, provided our country with a horrifying glimpse of a federal immigration system built on cruelty, torture, and terror.
Ongoing protests to close Chicago’s Broadview ICE facility, where detainees report being held under tortuous, inhumane conditions, are a case in point. Inside the facility, which never was intended for detention, detainees cite a lack of beds and showers, inadequate food and water, and limited access to attorneys and family. “It’s a black hole,” said Erendira Rendón of The Resurrection Project in a statement published in news.wttw.com. The project has received requests for legal help from nearly 250 arrested immigrants. “You can’t call the center. You can’t talk to anybody.”
More recently, Federal police forces, determined to put an end to the protests, viciously assaulted peaceful protesters, shooting people with pepper balls and flash-bang grenades, spraying tear gas and pepper spray. And, last week, Pastor David Black of First Presbyterian Church in Woodlawn, fell to the ground after being hit in the head by pepper balls as he was praying.
This escalating struggle includes clergy from different faiths who have been hosting prayer services each Friday, and who are “part of a growing movement of religious leader opposition to the ongoing immigration crackdown. Recently more than four dozen ministers gathered to pray for the detainees inside – and for the repentance of federal agents who arrested detainees – during a morning service attended by a crowd of more than 200.” (Chicago Tribune)
Without mentioning Chicago, Pope Leo XIV appeared to weigh in too, denouncing the crime of mistreatment of immigrants, in part saying, “With the abuse of vulnerable migrants, we are witnessing, not the legitimate exercise of national sovereignty, but rather grave crimes committed or tolerated by the state . . . [and] ever more inhuman measures are being adopted – even celebrated politically – that treat these ‘undesirables’ as if they were garbage and not human beings . . . Christianity, on the other hand, refers to the God of love, who makes us all brothers and sisters and asks us to live as brothers and sisters.”
On October 24, more that 250 local Christian clergy members across denominations, numbering more than 250, signed a statement, “Jesus is Being Tear Gassed at Broadview” — An Open Letter from Chicago Clergy, condemning the increasingly aggressive tactics of ICE.
Cardinal Blasé J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago also wrote a statement, “Standing with Immigrants.”
Below are the statements of the Chicago clergy:
‘Jesus is Being Tear Gassed at Broadview’
An Open Letter from Chicago Clergy
“Can I use my pastoral expense account to buy a gas mask?” It’s a question dozens of Chicago pastors asked our church boards this month. Few of us expected to be met with this degree of hostility and cruelty at the Broadview detention center, as we remain committed to nonviolent action and the peaceful exercise of our First Amendment rights. Our group comprises dozens of pastors and is still only a fraction of the clergy who are showing up and standing in support.
Unfortunately, peaceful actions—such as prayer and communion—have meant little to ICE agents. They lob tear gas, use pepper spray and bully sticks, body slam and drag protestors. One of our colleagues was hit in the face multiple times with pepper balls and rubber bullets. This is the brutality we are now accustomed to. We come offering bread and prayer, hope for justice and healing—we leave washing pepper spray out of each other’s eyes.
We willingly submit to these risks. What Kristi Noem and her ICE agents are doing is immoral. They aren’t arresting criminals; they are arresting our neighbors. They are tearing families apart. They wait at bus stops to detain children and use them as bait to lure parents from their homes. People of all ages are in hiding, businesses shuttered, and our friends and congregants—the people we have been ordained to serve—are being taken to Broadview in unmarked vans.
Despite these facts, pastors are asked by well-meaning people—those both inside and outside the church—why we put our bodies on the line. Aren’t the ICE agents simply doing their job and following the law? Why do we oppose their actions? And what does any of this have to do with the teachings of Jesus?
It isn’t lost on us that the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. encountered the same questions. After Bull Connor aimed his hoses at protestors and King was arrested, he penned his famous “Letter from the Birmingham Jail.” In it, he says that there are just and unjust laws, and one has not only the option but the moral obligation to refuse unjust laws. We oppose the laws and orders that allow for the hunting and terrorizing of immigrant communities.
But it’s not only the words of the King that inspire our actions. It’s the teachings of Jesus. Specifically, The Sermon on the Mount is an instruction manual for nonviolent action on behalf of the persecuted. Here Jesus blesses the poor, the meek, the hungry, the peacemakers and the persecuted, and promises them the kingdom of heaven.
We accept that following Christ’s example may mean we are mocked and assaulted, opposed and even arrested. Jesus has guidance for this as well, saying, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you.” If he were living today, we believe he might add “pepper spray, body slam and arrest you” to his beatitude.
Jesus further stipulates how we must treat strangers. He famously told his disciples, “I was a stranger and you invited me in.” When asked what he meant by this, he said, “Whatever you did to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did unto me.”
In other words, when our friends and congregants are kidnapped, forced into hiding, torn away from their families—those things are happening to Jesus in real time. As Christians, we cannot look away. We must act to stop this evil and witness to the goodness and dignity of all God’s children. For us, the stakes couldn’t be higher. As Matt 25:46 clarifies, those who refuse hospitality to the stranger, refuse to see Jesus in the faces of the persecuted, stand condemned.
The good news, of course, is that anyone at any time can change their heart. It applies to all of us. Those who have been sitting on the sidelines can get involved. They can join us at Broadview but there are many other ways to help. They can write to their officials, go to protests in their communities, support families with food and necessities and reach out to those who are fearful.
The Trump administration and the ICE agents, too, can have a change of heart. They can set aside their indifference and cruelty. They can put away their assault rifles and bully sticks. They can give up their pepper spray and rubber bullets. They can choose not to do this, cross to the other side of the fence and join us for communion.
It’s not too late to repent.
In faith,
Editor’s note: See long list of signees by clicking here.
Statement of Cardinal Blasé J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, on Standing with Immigrants
October 21, 2025
My dear brothers and sisters, today I speak to you as your shepherd, but also as a fellow pilgrim who shares the pain of many of our immigrant communities. Families are being torn apart. Children are left in fear, and communities are shaken by immigration raids and detentions. These actions wound the soul of our city. Let me be clear. The church stands with migrants.
We stand with the mother who crosses borders to feed her children. We stand with the father who labors in silence to build a better future. We stand with the young person who dreams of safety and a better future. Our parishes and schools will not turn away those who seek comfort, and we will not be silent when dignity is denied in the enforcement of the law. It is essential that we respect the dignity of every human being.
Now I want to say something directly to those immigrants without documents. Most of you have been here for years. You have worked hard. You have raised families. You have contributed to this nation. You have earned our respect. As the Archbishop of Chicago, I will insist that you be treated with dignity. Americans should not forget that we all come from immigrant families.
You are our brothers and sisters. We stand with you.
God bless you all.
