A church in Evanston, Illinois shocked onlookers after featuring a nativity scene that had the baby Jesus zip-tied in an emergency blanket and surrounded by Roman soldiers, who were dressed to look like ICE agents. Lake Street Evanston Church featured the display on its lawn. According to the church, the display “reimagines the nativity as a scene of forced family separation, drawing direct parallels between the Holy Family’s refugee experience and contemporary immigration detention practices.” “By placing the Christmas story (Christianity’s central narrative of refuge, sanctuary, and sacred family) within the visual language of immigration enforcement and detention, this work asks viewers to confront the disconnect between professed religious or moral values and immigration policies. The emergency blanket references the actual materials used in detention facilities.”

The use of the zip ties, according to the church, was to “directly reference the children who were zip-tied by agents during a raid on a Chicago apartment building earlier this year.” Accoring to the church, the raid was conducted against “mostly US citizens” and served as “a stark reminder that enforcement terror does not discriminate by documentation status.” Joseph and Mary are also featured wearing gas masks, a reference to tear gas that ICE agents used against what the church called “peaceful protesters.” A minister at the church, Michael Woolf, was detained by Illinois State Police earlier last month while attending an anti-ICE protest outside the Broadview ICE facility in Chicago, Illinois. Woolf accused the ICE agents of violating his First Amendment rights. “We were met with force pretty immediately. We wanted to use our First Amendment rights. We wanted to pray with these people,” he said. “We want the facility to be closed down.” It was the first time Woolf had been arrested. Images of Woolf made their rounds on social media, with some expressing their shock at seeing a minister being cuffed, while others referred to Woolf as a “woke clown.”

The church champions itself for its progressive theology and Social media users blasted the display. “Disgusting! What kind of church would do this? Do not use Christ for propaganda!” wrote one user. “I’m sure the Lake Street “Church” of Evanston think they did something here,” wrote another user. “Progressives have to bastardize the holiday into some political stunt, they can’t help themselves. It’s pathetic.”