As Springfield's 15,000 Haitians brace for deportations, local churches train to resist ICE
Story by RNS
• 1d • 7 min read
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (RNS) — “We have orders of deportation,” said a volunteer in a raised voice, posing as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent and pounding on the sanctuary door. “What you’re doing is harboring.”
Inside the sanctuary, hundreds of trainees blocked the large wooden double doors. One called out, “We’re exercising our First Amendment right to freedom of worship.”
The handful of faux ICE agents moved to a different entryway. As they pried open the side door to the sanctuary, some trainees held up phones to record the encounter while others blew whistles.
The scenario was part of a roleplay exercise at a rapid response training in Springfield, Ohio, on Saturday (Jan. 24). Despite the winter storm in the forecast, nearly 200 people from in and around Springfield gathered at Central Christian Church for the event organized by G92, a new Springfield-based coalition of pro-immigrant churches and advocates named after the 92 times the Hebrew word “ger,” which means stranger or sojourner, appears in the Hebrew Bible.
“For many people, this isn’t just a political issue, it’s also a spiritual issue,” said Central Christian pastor and G92 founder The Rev. Carl Ruby as he welcomed trainees earlier that day.
more
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/as-springfield-s-15-000-haitians-brace-for-deportations-local-churches-train-to-resist-ice/ar-AA1V1Vgi?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=6978bb55816b43a6a01310a97d810ae1&ei=37
