Organized by the Minnesota group MARCH—Multifaith Antiracism, Change and Healing—the gathering brought together clergy and representatives from faith organizations to share accounts of ICE activities and their effects on communities across America. Participants engaged in a day of strike action, braved sub-zero temperatures for a march, held a prayer and worship service, and staged a protest against deportation flights at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. During the airport demonstration, 100 clergy members were arrested.
National Call to Action
The Minneapolis event was followed by a massive online “National Faith Call to Action” involving over 8,000 faith leaders from multiple denominations. Organized by the grassroots group Faith in Action, the virtual assembly conveyed shock, resistance, and outrage at ICE operations. Speakers described a societal shift toward tyranny, with communities living in fear and reluctance to venture outside. Prominent voices, including bishops and cardinals, decried “reckless brutality” by the federal government and asserted that empires fall when people say “No.”
Global Echoes of Concern
Rev. Prof. Jerry Pillay, general secretary of the World Council of Churches, issued a statement expressing deep alarm over escalating violence in ICE deployment areas. The WCC affirmed its solidarity with church leaders demanding an end to the violence and justice for victims. Meanwhile, President Trump reinforced his stance, calling for the deportation of all criminal illegal aliens in jail and the elimination of sanctuary cities that restrict federal immigration access.