'The holy family is in hiding': nativity scenes at US churches push back on ICE

[Jilly_in_VA]

Satirical holiday displays mocking Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown, portraying the newborn Jesus and his parents, Mary and Joseph, as victims of heavy-handed tactics by the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE), have appeared across the US.

One striking retelling of the Christmas story, at Lake Street church in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, features baby Jesus lying in a manger in the snow – but wrapped in the kind of thin, foil blankets given out in emergencies and regularly as bedding to ICE detainees, and with his wrists zip-tied.

The figure of Mary stands nearby just outside the church, wearing a gas mask, which anti-ICE protesters have been wearing to protect against teargas. She is flanked by figures of Roman soldiers, which the Bible depicts as having detained Jesus prior to his execution, but with those in the display now dressed in tactical vests labeled “ICE.”

At another location in Chicago, Urban Village church, the models of Jesus, Mary and Joseph are nowhere to be seen alongside the camels, donkeys, shepherds and wise men bearing gifts in the traditional nativity scene. Instead, there is a sign that reads: “Due to ICE activity in our community the Holy Family is in hiding.”

The displays are extensions of the prominent role taken in recent protests against the aggressive federal immigration enforcement by faith leaders, especially in Chicago and New York.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/12/church-jesus-nativity-scenes-mock-ice-trump

Good for them!

[Uncle Joe]

1. Jesus, Mary and Joseph were refugees fleeing the insane, and evil Herod for Egypt

If this were happening today, and *rump, Noem, et al. were Egyptians they would've sent them back to Herod to be killed.

Thanks for the thread Jilly_in_VA

[Martin68]

4. Actually they were required to return to their ancestral home town to be registered in the census by order of

Caesar Augustus. They were not refugees. It was later that Herod issued a decree to have the baby Jesus killed, so they travelled to Egypt to escape him.

[Uncle Joe]

5. I never mentioned Bethlehem. Everything about

my post was regarding fleeing for Egypt, and yes they were refugees.

That was the point of my post.

[Martin68]

6. Except that the article was about creches that depicted the holy family in Bethlehem at the birth of Christ, not the

flight to Egypt.

[Uncle Joe]

7. I see the article as more about ICE and their adverse effects on American society, especially on immigrants

whether documented or not.

I think this is one of the unfortunate omissions of the Christmas story.

What happened to the male babies born in Bethlehem at that time?

There was no due process then either.

That's why Jesus, Mary and Joseph had fled to Egypt, because the government in the form of King Herod was trying to kill Jesus, that makes them refugees in the same vein as anyone else fleeing to another nation for their life.

That's the connection to ICE.

[Martin68]

9. No, the article was abut churches protesting against ICE by hiding the Holy Family. The point is that ICE profiles

and arrests people of color. Mary and Joseph were Middle Eastern Jews who fit that description. The flight to Egypt was not a factor in the post.

[Uncle Joe]

10. The churches are the angel that warned Joseph in a dream to flee, that's a form of hiding.

The flight to Egypt was definitely a factor in my post.

[Martin68]

2. If the Holy Family walked down a US street today they'd be profiled, arrested, and deported.

[travelingthrulife]

3. This is perfect because these displays are everywhere at Christmas.

[H2O Man]

8. Recommended.

This is a good thing.

[Jack Valentino]

11. Outstanding.