After federal agents shot and killed two people observing federal immigration enforcement in Minnesota, many across the country started looking for ways to express solidarity with those peacefully resisting the surge of violent government intervention in the Twin Cities. As the local movement continues to grow, national interest in providing support is growing along with it.
Every organizer Sojourners spoke with has said that people should call and write their elected officials to demand they block funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
As activists, organizers, and everyday citizens mobilize to protect their neighbors, Sojourners asked Minnesota faith leaders how those outside the state can offer support with time, resources, and spiritual practices.
Where to donate
Multiple organizers highlighted Stand With Minnesota. The website lists opportunities for mutual aid—from food and diaper support to rent relief, crowdfunding campaigns for individuals and families, and on-the-ground organizations working in the state. Stand With Minnesota also has opportunities to read testimonies or send a “brief message of hope, inspiration, or gratitude to folks working their butts off on the ground.”
The Grapevine Collective is seeking support for its projects associated with The New City Center for Healing Justice, which is coordinating mutual aid projects in South Minneapolis. Rev. Tyler Sit, founding pastor of New City Church which owns the center’s building, wrote in an email that the center has nearly 150 reservations for building use in the next 30 days, as well as projects such as “request from a grassroots food justice group that would require us to install multiple refrigerators in our basement.”
Other faith-based groups in Minnesota who have been organizing around the ICE surge include ISAIAH, a faith-based collective that helped plan the “Day of Truth and Freedom,” and the clergy-led group MARCH Minnesota.
How to speak out
Every organizer Sojourners spoke with has said that people should call and write their elected officials to demand they block funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“Call your elected officials immediately and demand that additional funding for ICE be paused, no more be given in the federal budget bill under consideration, and that investigations be launched and oversight done,” Rev. Susan Hayward, an expert in peacebuilding and staff minister at Creekside United Church of Christ, told Sojourners in an email.
Several faith-based advocacy organizations have released action alerts that make it easy to contact your representatives via email, including Church World Service, Faith in Action, and SojoAction. You can also use tools like 5calls.org to easily find your representatives’ phone numbers. Groups like Indivisible have sample scripts you can use if you’re unsure what to say.
In addition, Sit called on Christians to tell the story of faithful witness in Minnesota.
“Faith communities are living into the biblical mandate to care for immigrants: looking out for neighbors, delivering meals to those trapped in their homes, and proclaiming that God's love will show us the way of peace,” he wrote. “About a hundred clergy were arrested on Friday at the airport as they protested the deportations. They were on their knees, praying aloud, as officers took them away.”
READ: To Stop ICE Killings, More Christians Need To Tell the Truth
Peter Digitale Anderson, executive director of Peace Catalyst International, wrote that people can invite others to join them as they raise their voices for justice.
“This is not the time for quiet,” he wrote. “Join local protests and vigils, invite friends and family and fellow congregants to go with you, and share clearly why this is a big deal to you.”
Communal practices for liberation
Liz Digitale Anderson, also an organizer with Peace Catalyst International, recommended people begin familiarizing themselves with songs of protest and lament. In Minnesota, Singing Resistance has “walked the streets to prevent ice from taking people while we’re singing to our neighbors songs of love and solidarity to let them know they’re not alone,” Liz wrote, “and we’ve raised thousands of dollars in rent support for people who can’t go to work right now.”
Liz has prepared a five-page document of songs and chants compiled from protest movements across the country.
Several faith leaders said that people must “ground themselves,” spiritually. Hayward said people must study the practices “that will help sustain your soul and keep you grounded in love. Listen to the lessons our ancestors, who lived through their own awful times, left for us as our inheritance.” Practically, she recommended connecting with local immigrant and labor organizations.
READ: Soul Care for Weary Activists
Sit said preachers can “Help people connect the dots between biblical narrative and difficult news.”
“So much of the Bible was written under military occupation, and now Minneapolis is under occupation by ICE,” Sit wrote. From health care to gun rights to religious freedom and children’s safety, Sit said, “Injustices in each of those dimensions are playing out in Minneapolis, and you are uniquely positioned to frame this crisis as a matter of personal resonance for your people.”
Peter said it was highly important for people to learn from organizers in cities already dealing with ICE agents and Customs and Border Protection agents.
“Build the boat before the storm. Build neighborhood networks. Do asset mapping and neighborhood mapping. Host house meetings, book clubs, and skill shares. Start practicing mutual aid now, so the muscles are ready when systems begin to fail,” he wrote.
“Host know-your-rights trainings, ICE watch trainings, and seek out folk from Chicago and Minneapolis and elsewhere to coach you as they’re able … Remember that the most important part is not what you’re fighting, but what you’re building. Minneapolis is winning this fight in part because we have such a strong legacy of community organizing and abolitionist imagination. We know what a better world can look like, and we’ve been struggling together for it for years.”
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to “Customs and Border Patrol.” It was updated on Jan. 28 to distinguish between two organizations: U.S. Border Patrol and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
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