Action Alert: Lawless Law Enforcement and the Militarization of ICE

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil … and deprive the innocent of their rights!”  Isaiah 5.20, 23

Action Alert: Lawless Law Enforcement and the Militarization of ICE

Justice and love inseparably lie at the heart of the Gospel. Israel’s prophets urged God’s people to care for the poor, needy, and outcast—indeed they often vigorously reminded God’s people to consider this essential work of covenant fidelity before God. So too the earliest Christian communities welcomed foreigners and sold all they had and distributed the proceeds to anyone in need. The sweeping testimony of Scripture consistently reveals a God who loves capaciously and insists on the just ordering of all created life. In response to this God, we Presbyterians likewise take up the responsibility to love our neighbors as ourselves and to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God. So it is with heavy hearts and outraged spirits that we join our siblings in witnessing the overlapping crises in Minnesota. Alongside the two ICE-involved shootings last week, we’ve witnessed dozens of credible reports of people brutalized by ICE agents wearing masks, camouflage, and driving unmarked vehicles. These come alongside the continued family separations and wholesale disregard for due process and legal protection from racial profiling that immigrant and minoritized communities have experienced most directly. The ordinary responses to plausible violations of human and constitutional rights include urgent calls for investigations and promises of accountability. But representatives from across the current Administration have swiftly worked to undermine the possibility of public accountability, accused ICE’s victims of domestic terrorism, and opened investigations into Minnesota’s elected officials.  The civic crises in Minnesota are multiple and overlapping: militarization of the police, unaccountability of law enforcement, rampant civil rights violations and racial profiling, political officials politicizing and inflaming the ensuing unrest, immigrant and citizen populations alike afraid of further terrorization by immigration enforcement, and the threat of sending the military in to what is already a chaotic situation spiraling out of control. Presbyterians are well-positioned to prophetically recall that, despite how overwhelming they feel, these are not unprecedented times. The law enforcement violence we are witnessing comes in a long history that recently broke through the public consciousness following the murders of George Floyd and Michael Brown Jr. The threat of invoking the Insurrection Act recalls its last use in 1992 during the LA riots following the brutal beating of Rodney King. The PC(USA) has decried US immigration policy and enforcement for decades. In 1993, the 205th General Assembly expressed grave concern over the reports of bodily and sexual violence perpetrated by the US Border Patrol and Customs Service and called a federal review board to promote officer accountability. The church was concerned that “agents routinely violate all professional law-enforcement standards on the use of firearms regarding firing warning shots and firing at fleeing persons.” Again in 2003, the 215th General Assembly opposed “Operation Gatekeeper,” which the church saw as resulting “an increase in militarization” and in “violations of human rights, deaths … and racial profiling of Hispanic peoples.” And again in 2010, following the creation of ICE the church commended a study on Immigration and Border Enforcement which found that domestic immigration agencies were routinely credibly accused of systemic harassment, racial profiling, and human and civil rights violations.” The report suggests that CBP and ICE seemed “to operate with impunity.” Enough is enough. It is time for neighbor-love and democratic justice as Presbyterians have long been advocating for. Presbyterians value the constitutional and civil rights for all who reside in the U.S. regardless of immigration status and urges action to resist government policies that harm immigrant communities. Contact your officials in the White House, DHS, and DOJ today to decry the unconscionable treatment of immigrant populations, the continued practice of family separation, and the unaccountable and lawless domestic policing of ICE. And contact your congressional representatives to demand that Congress provided much needed oversight.

Action Alert: Lawless Law Enforcement and the Militarization of ICE

Presbyterian Peace Fellowship - Families Belong Together

Dear friends, We are heartbroken, enraged, and grieving what is happening in Minneapolis and across the country. We name the lives lost through ICE violence, detention, and enforcement. Their names matter: People killed in ICE detention or ICE-related custody and enforcement: Geraldo Lunas Campos Parady La Victor Manuel Diaz Heber Sanchez Domínguez Luis Beltran Yanez-Cruz Luis Gustavo Nunez Caceres (source: Al Jazeera) And we add the names of those recently killed during federal enforcement actions: Keith Porter Jr. Renée Good Alex Pretti We mourn each of these lives. We grieve their families and loved ones. We also grieve the thousands of families being separated and the children being taken by ICE, sometimes from their homes and sometimes from schools, always through fear and force. We also recognize that faith communities are rising together to resist these practices and to protect immigrants and their families, not just locally but across the country. Hundreds of clergy from many faith traditions recently gathered in Minneapolis to learn from local leaders and to stand in solidarity with people targeted by ICE enforcement, and many then took their witness into the streets and airports as part of this interfaith effort to resist ICE tactics rooted in violence and separation. (source: The Presbyterian Outlook) Let us be absolutely clear: Families belong together. Families should never be separated. Children should never be taken from their caregivers. We unequivocally support peaceful protest and the right of communities to demand accountability. What is happening is enraging. It is cruel. It is unacceptable. And it must stop.  Take action: Call your senators and representatives and tell them that family separation, deaths in detention, and lethal enforcement are unacceptable. Demand accountability. Demand an end to this violence.  If you are looking for sustainable ways to get involved, we invite you to join one of PPF’s working groups, which are doing long-term, grounded work for justice and peace: • Palestine Solidarity • Gun Violence Prevention • Presbyterians for Abolition • Peace Church Working Group Learn more and get involved here: https://www.presbypeacefellowship.org/our-work We will continue to speak out, organize, and insist on a world where families are kept together, always. In peace and solidarity, Presbyterian Peace Fellowship photo credit: Lesia Cortez photo credit for Block ICE graphic: Nicolas Lampert

Presbyterian Peace Fellowship | 17 Cricketown Road | Stony Point, NY 10980 US

Living into Right Relations: January 2026

Reconciliation and Indigenous Justice News from The United Church of Canada Women’s Memorial March, February 14 On February 14, communities across the country hold the Women’s Memorial March to honour and remember Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) in Canada. The Women’s Memorial March originated in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Information for the 2026 Vancouver march can be found here. Please check social media to see what is happening in your community – the information often comes out in early February. We encourage United Church communities of faith and individuals to join Indigenous people and organizations, labour, and civil society groups in this important act of public witness against racism and violence, and for justice. [Image credit: Indigenous/Racialized Youth Gathering visits Camp Morgan | IMJ] Learning from Youth and Young Adults   Looking for learning opportunities for your community of faith? The 2025 Indigenous and Racialized Youth Scholars are still available to share the results of their research projects on identity, Canadian history, and the impact of racism. Visit the website to learn more and book an online meeting with a young scholar! Do you know someone who would be a good candidate for the 2026 cohort? Stay tuned for the invitation to apply. [Image credit: The United Church of Canada] Ten Years of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation  “This ten-year milestone affirms what Survivors have always known: that Truth and Reconciliation is not a moment in time, but a movement to be carried forward by all who choose to listen, learn, and act.” Since 2015, the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) has been carrying forward the legacy of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, and doing the sacred work of preserving the stories of those impacted by Canada’s colonial institutions. Visit the NCTR website to download the 10-year report entitled Shaped by Courage; Strengthened by Hope, and learn more about the work that has been done and what lies ahead. [Image credit: NCTR] Rights Issues Continue with One Canadian Economy Act The federal government’s decision to ram its One Canadian Economy Act through Parliament without adequate consultation and discussion with First Nations was in violation Canada’s UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and its constitutional obligations. This continues to have reverberations. Recently, Canada and Alberta signed a Memorandum of Agreement on a pipeline to the BC coast. First Nations in BC who are opposed to the pipeline and supportive of the Oil Tanker Moratorium Act, which became law in 2019, were not consulted. In January Coastal First Nations made clear that they would not revisit the tanker exclusion zone. Heiltsuk Nation Chief Marilyn Slett said, “our interest isn’t about money in this situation. It’s about the responsibility of looking after our territories and nurturing the sustainable economies that we currently have here. Just one spill would ruin our way of life.” This is just one example of how, in the face of economic and political pressure from the United States, Canada is abandoning its nation-to-nation, treaty, and constitutional obligations to Indigenous peoples. As Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict said with respect to the provincial government’s proposal to remove some permit requirements for mining companies to use water in December, “We’re deeply concerned with the approach that this government is taking in response to economic threats from abroad. We’ve been very clear on this issue: we are not opposed to development, but any development that occurs must be done in a way that protects our lands and waters and recognizes and respects our inherent and Treaty rights, including the right to free, prior and informed consent on matters that affect those rights.” [Image credit: AJ Robsin on Unsplash] Facebook Website Email Instagram YouTube Donate to The United Church of Canada and help fund life changing work around the world!

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WCC NEWS: Dialogue will focus on tackling antimicrobial resistance

A dialogue on 3 February hosted by the World Council of Churches at the Ecumenical Centre and online will focus on tackling antimicrobial resistance, and the contributions of faith-based organizations in this area. A policy brief will be released on antimicrobial resistance, one of the most pressing global health and development challenges, directly responsible for over one million deaths annually and associated with nearly five million deaths worldwide. Medicines, including antiretroviral drugs, before being administered to patients living in the "House for the Dying", a hospice for AIDS patients and other terminally ill patients run by the Sisters of Charity in Port au Prince, Haiti. Photo: Paul Jeffrey/Life on Earth 27 January 2026 In Africa, health system weaknesses, inadequate infection prevention and control, inequitable access to quality-assured medicines, inappropriate antimicrobial use, limited surveillance capacity, and insufficient and fragmented financing for responses exacerbate the crisis. In many African countries, faith-based organizations provide between 40-60 percent of health services, often serving remote, underserved, and marginalized populations where state services are limited or absent. The policy brief will highlight the critical but underutilized role of faith-based organizations in antimicrobial resistance mitigation in Africa; and will present concrete case studies of faith-based organizations’ engagement in community advocacy, antimicrobial stewardship, supply chains, and maternal and child health. The policy brief will also provide evidence-based recommendations for systematically integrating faith-based organizations into national, regional, and global responses. Co-organizers include ReAct Africa, the Ecumenical Pharmaceutical Network, and the African Christian Health Associations Platform. Learn more Register here See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland

WCC NEWS: Accompaniers in Palestine and Israel keep continual pursuit of peace

As one group of ecumenical accompaniers left, and another took its place, the pursuit of peace remained uninterrupted in Palestine and Israel, even through grave challenges. Rev. Canon Donald D. Binder of the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem (centre) and Bishop dr Imad Haddad of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (left) pictured at the altar during the WCC-EAPPI handover service on 22 January 2026. Photo: WCC 27 January 2026 A “handover ceremony”—a longstanding tradition for the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel—drew people together to share prayers and wishes with the outgoing and incoming accompaniers.  They gathered in the historic St George’s Cathedral—a sacred space that for generations has stood as a beacon of faith, resilience, and hope in Jerusalem.  Rev. Canon Don Binder opened and closed the prayers, and Imad Haddad, new Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, provided a short reflection as well as the closing prayer in Arabic. “We come together today united not only by faith, but by a shared commitment to profoundly universal values: peace, justice, human dignity, and the courage to stand with those whose rights are threatened,” said Iskandar Majlaton, programme coordinator for the WCC Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel.  The 16 outgoing accompaniers, during their three months serving in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Jordan Valley, and the South Hebron Hills, stood alongside communities facing the harsh realities of occupation.  “In doing so, you embodied the core value of solidarity with those whose fundamental rights are at risk,” said Majlaton. “Your impact has been both tangible and profound.” The accompaniers carried out nearly 600 activities and documented close to 700 human rights violations.  “These are not just numbers,” noted Majlaton. “They represent lives, stories, and acts of courageous truth-telling.” Now these accompaniers will return home as ambassadors for peace.  “In a world shaped by competing narratives and selective truths, your voices matter more than ever,” said Majlaton. “You have a responsibility—and a unique opportunity—to speak to your communities, your leaders, and your nation about why this work matters: not only for Palestinians and Israelis, but for all who believe in a world governed by law, compassion, and moral responsibility.” Incoming accompaniers The incoming accompaniers arrive at a moment of deep challenge—and enduring hope. “You step into a legacy shaped by those who came before you, bringing renewed commitment to the principles of ecumenical accompaniment,” said Majlaton. “Your presence here reflects the best of the global spirit: a willingness to engage the world’s hardest realities with humility, courage, and compassion.” See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa.  Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland