VIGILS and peaceful protests are continuing on the streets of Minnesota as Christians join a campaign of resistance to the presence of immigration officers after the shooting of a mother of three.
The woman, Renee Nicole Good, aged 37, was shot in the face ten days ago as she tried to turn her car around at an immigration protest. She died at the scene. Her wife said that the couple were present to support neighbours during immigration action in their area. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said that the officer shot in self-defence, a characterisation of events backed by the Trump administration, but denied by local officials.
An online vigil was organised by the Episcopal Church in the United States on Tuesday evening to pray for the situation in Minneapolis and cities around the US. The Trump administration is intensifying its immigration raids on cities, as part of its crackdown on illegal immigration.
The entire Church was invited to “mourn, lament and remember those who have died due to immigration enforcement”, the Bishop of Minnesota, the Rt Revd Craig Loya, said. “It’s been a painful week in Minnesota, and this is a critical moment in the history of our nation.”
The Presiding Bishop, Dr Sean Rowe, spoke at the vigil, urging Christians to stand alongside those “encountering dehumanisation and violence”.
Bishop Loya told the Church Times that ICE agents were still on the streets of the city despite Ms Good’s death, and that more were being sent to the area. School classes had been cancelled for two days, after agents conducted raids on campuses. He said that agents were operating “through a racially narrow lens and with a shocking cruelty”.
He said: “The diocese of Minnesota has many congregations with large immigrant populations, and these past weeks have been devastating for those faith communities. Many people, including legal immigrants and citizens, cannot leave their homes for fear for their safety and that of their families. Our congregations are doing the servant work of mutual aid, staying in touch with those families, and we have begun to organise initiatives to deliver groceries and other critical supplies to families who are afraid to leave their homes.
“As the people of God, we are drawing wisdom and nourishment from our ancestors who have navigated fearful times under authoritarian regimes in the past, and doing our best to heed scripture’s constant call to be not afraid.”
The Religion News Service reported that religious groups that had been mobilised during the protests after George Floyd’s murder in the city, in 2020, had regrouped and re-emerged in the resistance to ICE agents on the streets of Minneapolis.
At a protest at the weekend, which, police estimated, drew tens of thousands on to the streets, leaders called “movement chaplains” ministered to protesters. Religious groups, including Christians, Muslims, and indigenous faith leaders, co-ordinated the resistance.
The vice-president of the Indigenous Protector Movement, Rachel Dionne-Thunder, told protesters that ICE agents had “invaded the city. They have desecrated this land. We have spilled blood on this sacred Dakota unceded territory of this land. We have a message as the native community here: ICE needs to leave immediately.”
The Episcopal Church has published a “toolkit”, “Protesting Faithfully”, to support peaceful Christian protests. It says that the toolkit “offers spiritual grounding and practical resources for faithful protests and public demonstrations”.