In Chicago, clergy and faith-based protesters say ICE is threatening their religious freedom

[douglas9]

(RNS) — Last month, the Rev. David Black stood in front of a Chicago-area U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and spread his arms wide. Adorned in all black and wearing a clerical collar, the pastor looked up at a group of masked, heavily armed ICE agents on the roof and began to pray.

“I invited them to repentance,” Black, a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), said in an interview. “I basically offered an altar call. I invited them to come and receive that salvation, and be part of the kingdom that is coming.”

But when Black began to lower his arms a few seconds later, the agents responded to his spiritual plea by firing pepper balls, or chemical agents that cause eye irritation and respiratory distress, video footage shows. One struck Black in the head, exploding into a puff of white pepper smoke and forcing him to his knees. Fellow demonstrators rushed to his aid, and as the pastor rubbed his face in pain, the agents continued to fire.

“We could hear them laughing,” Black said.

It was one of several dramatic and violent scenes that unfolded in recent weeks near an ICE detention facility in Broadview, Illinois. About 12 miles from downtown Chicago, the suburban site has seen scores of demonstrators repeatedly confront ICE agents — sometimes jeering at agents or using acts of civil disobedience to block the entrance to the facility as part of a groundswell of protests against President Donald Trump’s ongoing immigration crackdown in the city. The agents, mostly masked, have often responded with force, arresting demonstrators, tossing gas canisters, firing nonlethal rounds at activists and journalists and sometimes throwing protesters — including at least one local Democratic congressional candidate — to the ground.


https://religionnews.com/2025/10/07/in-chicago-clergy-and-religious-protesters-say-ice-is-threatening-their-religious-freedom/

[LetMyPeopleVote]

1. MaddowBlog-Team Trump's clashes with the faith community go from bad to worse

The political world is overdue for a conversation about the severity of the conflicts between the Republican administration and the faith community.

We’re overdue for a public conversation about the Trump administration's dramatic conflicts with the faith community.

Pam Bondi recently claimed that Biden “abused and targeted Christians,” but that more accurately describes the status quo, not the recent past. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-10-08T19:57:15.812Z

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/team-trumps-clashes-faith-community-go-bad-worse-rcna236412

It served as a timely reminder that too often in GOP circles, religion is treated as something that must be celebrated, protected and respected — just so long as the faith community is telling the party what it wants to hear.....

More recently, however, the underlying issue took a dramatic turn. The Religion News Service reported this week on developments in Chicago, where a variety of faith leaders are opposed to the administration’s immigration agenda. The report specifically highlighted what transpired when the Rev. David Black, wearing a clerical collar, stood in front of an ICE facility, with empty arms raised, and invited armed agents to repent. From the RNS report:

When Black began to lower his arms a few seconds later, the agents responded to his spiritual plea by firing pepper balls, or chemical agents that cause eye irritation and respiratory distress, video footage shows. One struck Black in the head, exploding into a puff of white pepper smoke and forcing him to his knees. Fellow demonstrators rushed to his aid, and as the pastor rubbed his face in pain, the agents continued to fire.

“We could hear them laughing,” Black added.

The same Religion News Service report noted that the Rev. Hannah Kardon, a United Methodist pastor who leads United Church of Rogers Park in Chicago, has also protested at the local ICE facility, and she too said she has been shot multiple times with pepper bullets, “including while she was praying with her eyes closed and hands lifted, wearing a clerical collar.”.....

Six months later, as Christian leaders are actually abused by Trump administration officials, the political world is overdue for a conversation about the severity and frequency of the clashes between Team Trump and the faith community.