Churches in Chicago and Boston Turn Nativity Scenes Into Protests Against ICE

Churches in major cities across the United States are using their nativity scenes to protest the actions of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the Trump administration.

In the Chicago area, Lake Street Church of Evanston reimagined the Christmas nativity this year with striking imagery: a baby Jesus whose wrists were zip-tied and wrapped in an emergency foil blanket, flanked by masked figures dressed as ICE agents, while Mary and Joseph wore gas masks, and ICE agents were depicted as Roman occupiers.

In their social-media post, church leaders explained that the zip ties reference children reportedly detained and restrained by ICE during a raid in a Chicago apartment building, even though many of the residents were U.S. citizens. They described the scene as a stark reminder that enforcement terror "does not discriminate by documentation status."

"This installation reimagines the nativity as a scene of forced family separation, drawing direct parallels between the Holy Family's refugee experience and contemporary immigration detention practices," the church wrote.

"By placing the Christmas story (Christianity's central narrative of refuge, sanctuary, and sacred family) within the visual language of immigration enforcement and detention, this work asks viewers to confront the disconnect between professed religious or moral values and immigration policies.

The emergency blanket references the actual materials used in detention facilities...The gas masks worn by Mary and Joseph reference the documented use of tear gas and other chemical weapons deployed by ICE agents against peaceful protesters, journalists, and community members advocating for immigration reform and bearing witness to human rights abuses within the system."

Chicago news station WGN9 spoke with Rev. Michael Woolf of Lake Street Church in Evanston, and he told them, "Everything that is happening in our Nativity took place here. "These are scenes—the use of zip ties, the separation of families, the fact that Mary and Joseph have to have gas masks on because ICE is tear-gassing people in our communities who want to protect our neighbors."

WGN9 reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment, and they shared the following statement:

"Not only is this 'nativity' scene offensive to Christians, but it is also depicting something that—despite what Rev. Woolf said—NEVER happen. ICE does not zip tying infants or children. This demonization of law enforcement are contributing to a more than 1153% increase in assaults on ICE. Get a grip and seek help." – DHS Asst. Sec. Tricia McLaughlin

Another church in the Chicago area, the Urban Village Church, joined the trend with their own political nativity scene as well. Instead of the usual figures of Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus, the church's nativity display features a stark sign: "Due to ICE activity in our community, the Holy Family is in hiding."

Another church in Dedham, Massachusetts, located on Boston's southwestern border, set up its own empty nativity scene. The usual figures of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph were replaced by a sign that read "ICE was here."

A smaller sign beneath invited parishioners to call a local immigration-justice hotline if they saw ICE agents. According to St. Susanna Parish's pastor, Stephen Josoma, the display reflects the reality faced by refugee families from Honduras, Guatemala, Afghanistan, Burundi, and Myanmar who now live under the threat of deportation.

Like Lake Street, St. Susanna Parish is facing pushback, but this time from the local archdiocese. The Archdiocese of Boston said in a statement to CBS News that "The people of God have the right to expect that, when they come to church, they will encounter genuine opportunities for prayer and Catholic worship — not divisive political messaging. The display should be removed, and the manger restored to its proper sacred purpose."

It's not the first time St. Susanna's has used its nativity in this way. In 2018, the church displayed baby Jesus in a cage to protest the Trump-era family-separation policy, and in other years, it addressed issues like mass shootings and climate change. For Josoma and his congregation, the nativity is meant to shock as "Religious art is supposed to challenge you... make you see things differently."

Originally published on Latin Times