Church nativity scenes add zip ties, gas masks and ICE to protest immigration raids

DEDHAM, Mass. — A baby Jesus lies in a manger in the snow, wrapped in a silver emergency blanket and with his wrists tied. Mary stands near Lake Street Church in Evanston, Illinois, wearing a plastic gas mask and flanked by Roman soldiers in tactical vests labeled “ICE.”

In another Chicago suburb, not far from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement center that has sparked protests over detentions, a sign at the nursery outside the Urban Village Church reads: “Due to ICE activity in our community, the Holy Family is in hiding.” » And more than a thousand miles away, the baby Jesus disappeared from a nursery at St. Susanna Parish in Dedham, Massachusetts, replaced by a hand-painted sign: “ICE was here.”

These and other reimaginings of Christ’s birth are drawing praise and outrage as churches turn the Christmas tableau into a commentary on the enforcement of federal immigration laws under the Trump administration. Their creators claim to place the ancient story in a contemporary framework, depicting the Holy Family as refugees to reflect on the fear of separation and deportation that many families – including their own parishioners – experience today.

Supporters of the displays say the Bible is on their side, but critics call the scenes sacrilege and politically divisive, accusing churches of overusing sacred imagery and some saying they should lose their tax-exempt status. The Archdiocese of Massachusetts ordered that the Nativity scene be “restored to its sacred purpose.”

The debate comes as immigration enforcement is intensifying in states and cities whose leaders oppose immigration crackdowns. In September alone, at least 2,000 people were arrested in Illinois and Massachusetts, according to federal arrest figures released by immigration authorities.

For churches, Christmas is a time “where we have public artwork on the lawn and we have an opportunity to say something,” said the Rev. Michael Woolf, senior minister at Lake Street. Another nativity scene created by the Baptist congregation last year showed Jesus in the rubble – a “call for peace” in Gaza, he said.

Parishioners at Sainte-Suzanne locked baby Jesus in a cage in 2018 to protest the way President Donald Trump’s first administration separated families at the border. Another year, they depicted the infant floating in plastic-polluted water to highlight climate change.

Boston Archbishop Richard Henning ordered the removal of this year’s exhibit. As of Thursday, Father Steve Josoma was seeking a meeting and had yet to accede.

“God’s people have the right to expect that when they come to church, they will encounter genuine opportunities for prayer and Catholic worship – not divisive political messages,” a diocesan spokesperson said.

Some Catholic activists want the priest to be punished.

“It’s really a big scandal for Catholics, and I think he’s playing with fire,” said CJ Doyle, director of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts. “The archbishop can remove him as pastor, suspend him from active ministry – he can even close the parish and sell the property under his command.”

Josoma said the goal of the exhibit is to go “beyond static traditional figures and spark emotion and dialogue” in response to the fear many parishioners face as federal forces arrest more than just undocumented immigrants, sweeping away longtime legal residents and sowing anxiety.

In Illinois, the detention campaign left bystanders choking on chemical sprays and traumatized children at the site of neighbors and teachers being taken away, sparking state and local investigations.

“We wanted to kind of reflect the reality that our community is experiencing,” said Jillian Westerfield, associate pastor at Evanston United Methodist Church.

After Joseph’s figure exploded and was damaged, leaving Mary alone with the baby, they put up an explanatory sign: “Joseph did not survive. We are holding this apart to honor and remember all the victims of the terror of immigration forces.”

Critics either don’t fully understand the message or “they find it really challenging to their conscience and attack the art rather than the actual message,” Westerfield said.

Phil Mandeville, who serves on St. Susanna’s parish council and coordinates a multi-church refugee support committee, said long-standing relationships make the parish committed to maintaining the exhibit.

The committee has worked with around ten refugee families since 2019, helping them find housing, enroll in school, learn English and find jobs. Much of the effort is being done in partnership with the federal government, which subjects families to extensive screenings before they arrive, he said.

“Just to emphasize the reason for this: This is not a set-up,” Mandeville said. “We work with refugees every day. But people get upset over a bit of plaster. I care more about individuals than a nativity scene. I understand what it represents, I don’t understand why no one cares about these human beings.”

“Look at the Gospel just before Christ’s execution: it was political,” he added. “We have always been taught: When you don’t know how to act, ask: ‘What would Christ do?’ That’s what we’re doing now, and it doesn’t seem to fit.

The controversy in Evanston drew volunteers from a nearby synagogue, who stood outside during services on Lake Street to help worshipers feel safe. Reactions outside the Dedham church were wide-ranging.

Walter Niland took a selfie and said he disagreed with the display. “I believe the Church enjoys tax-exempt status,” said Niland, a Catholic from a nearby town. “We should be talking about spiritual issues, not political divisive issues.”

Others came to directly challenge the parish, including a man who livestreamed his attempt to shoot at the locked church doors.

Steve Grieger, a former Catholic school teacher, drove an hour from Worcester to show his support.

“The archdiocese says, ‘Oh no, that goes against our tradition.’ Well, we live in totally abnormal times. We can’t do business as usual,” Grieger said. “If we follow the scriptures of Jesus, then we have to recognize that these ICE raids, and all these terrible things that are happening, are totally against that.”

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Bargfeld reported from Evanston.