Religious leaders gathered Wednesday at the Texas Capitol to condemn recent ICE-related deaths in Texas, Maine and Florida and to demand that federal immigration agents end a “terror campaign” against migrants.
“We grieve every death, every act of violence, and every enforcement practice that unnecessarily endangers human life or diminishes the God-given dignity of our immigrant neighbors,” said Bishop Sue Briner with the Southwestern Texas Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
“When fear begins to shape the daily lives of our neighbors, it is time for the church to show up,” she said.
A news conference inside the Capitol brought together leaders from the United Methodist Church, the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, the South Central Conference of the United Church of Christ, the National Council of Jewish Women and more. Texas Impact, an interfaith grassroots network, organized the event.
The religious leaders condemned the “grave moral evil” of deportations, detention centers and enforcement-related deaths involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and urged ICE agents and government officials to “examine their conscience.” Those who determine that their actions are immoral should “resign and find other work,” said Jim Harrington, who works with immigrants at St. James Episcopal Church in Austin.
