Many churches in the U.S. are creating politically motivated Nativity scenes to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s efforts to remove illegal immigrants.
In Massachusetts, St. Susanna Catholic Church in Dedham replaced the traditional figure of Jesus in the manger with a sign implying that Jesus would be deported by ICE. The sign read, “ICE was here. The Holy Family is safe in the Sanctuary of our Church.”
The sign also urges people to contact LUCE, a hotline that monitors ICE agent activity. Additionally, the parish runs a “Refugee Resettlement Collaborative,” which helps support refugee families as they settle into their new homes and start a new life in the country.
According to Boston.com, the church has previously created similar displays, including a 2018 Nativity scene in which baby Jesus was placed in a cage and the wise men stood behind a wall.
The Lake Street Church of Evanston, Illinois, created a Nativity scene depicting the infant Jesus in zip ties being detained by ICE. Joseph and Mary are shown wearing gas masks in reference to the tear gas used on ICE protesters.
The church claims the installation draws parallels with the Holy Family’s “refugee experience” and “contemporary” ICE detentions.
The Lake Street Church shared in a Facebook post that the 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 Holy Family were refugees. This is not a political interpretation; this is the reality described in the stories our tradition has told and retold for millennia,” the post stated.
The pictures shared on social media have received mixed reactions, with many users criticizing them as blasphemous for promoting leftist agendas.
C.J. Doyle, Executive Director of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts, described the sign as “divisive,” saying it was wrong, disrespectful, and detracted from the core message of Christmas.