MINNEAPOLIS (RNS) — A group of clergy seeking to offer pastoral care to immigrant detainees at a federal building was denied on Tuesday morning (Jan. 13), with officials at the government facility, a hub of Immigration and Customs Enforcement activities for the region, telling the group “not at this time.”
The denial came after three United Church of Christ pastors — the Rev. Susie Hayward, who serves as minister for justice organizing at Creekside UCC, and the Revs. Rebecca Voelkel and T. Michael Rock, both of Lyndale UCC — approached the Bishop Henry Whipple Building after attending a vigil across the street. The building has become a fixture for anti-ICE demonstrations, and on Monday, Department of Homeland Security agents responded to protests at the facility with pepper spray, pepper balls, flash-bang grenades and arrests.
The pastors, who were accompanied by a Religion News Service reporter, walked toward the building, offering prayer to DHS agents as they passed. They all declined.
“Treat people well, please,” Rock shouted after agents as they passed.
The group was allowed into the building — something recently denied to protesters and even lawmakers such as Rep. Ilhan Omar, who was rebuffed last week alongside other members of Congress when they sought to inspect the facility. The pasto …