A priest, a rabbi, and ministers from a wide range of faith groups walked into Madison Place in Grand Rapids Monday, and called for more humane treatment of immigrants.
“We will not be judged by what we claim that we believe,” said the Rev. Karen Fitz La Barge with the group West Michigan Clergy Action. “We will be judged by what we are willing to risk, by whom we are willing to stand beside.”
The faith leaders gathered on a snowy Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, sharing stories of local immigrant families who they say have been detained by federal immigration officials in recent months.
The Rev. Reggie Smith, with the Christian Reformed Church in North America, said his neighbors on the southwest side of Grand Rapids are too afraid to shop at the local grocery store because of reports of arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“Something has changed about us,” Smith said. “And maybe on Martin Luther King’s Day — he taught us that we should recognize our own humanity — maybe our immigrant neighbors aren’t the one that need to be saved. Maybe it’s us.”
Father Mike Cruickshank, a catholic priest with Cathedral of Saint Andrew, told the story of a man who he said was arrested at a routine office visit as part of his asylum case. The arrest, Cruickshank said, came as the man’s wife was seven months pregnant. The family has been separated since, according to Cruickshank.
He cited a recent “Special Message” from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on immigration, which noted the government’s role in regulating immigration, but spoke out against conditions in detention centers.
“Today we commemorate of course the legacy of Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr., a courageous defender of human dignity and civil rights,” Cruikshank said. “And his witness reminds us that silence in the face of injustice is not an option for people of faith.”
Rabbi Javier Cattapan of Temple Emanuel in Grand Rapids, himself an immigrant and naturalized citizen, called for elected officials to do more.
“We are calling for transparency, accountability, and due process," Cattapan said. "We are calling on institutions and leaders to refuse policies that dehumanize and divide us.”
The meeting came as protests continued in Minnesota after an immigration enforcement officer shot and killed Renee Good, an American citizen. Grand Rapidians organized protests in the wake of the killing. And since then, rumors of immigration enforcement actions have swirled on social media in West Michigan.
Grand Rapids Mayor David LaGrand attended Monday’s meeting, and he said he’s been trying to confirm some of the online reports himself.
“It’s not as if I’m getting a daily report from ICE on what they’re doing anywhere,” LaGrand said. “Last week, I spent a chunk of my morning simply driving around a part of our town where I’d heard that ICE was out doing door-to-door encounters. And I didn’t see anything.” The mayor said he’s not sure which online reports are true, and which are not.
“We’re sort of operating in the dark,” LaGrand said. “We’re at a point where I think everyone has to be vigilant, but we don’t want to overreact.”
