Oklahoma clergy recount what they witnessed in MN

Carla Hinton

The Oklahoman USA TODAY NETWORK

Numerous immigrant-owned businesses closed and boarded up, wary neighbors, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents stopping motorists on the streets under the watchful eye of residents who oppose their actions.

This is what a group of Oklahoma City and Tulsa ministers witnessed during a recent trip to Minneapolis made at the invitation of their Minneapolis counterparts.

“It was really an intense time,” the Rev. Lori Walke, senior minister of Mayflower Congregational Church-United Church of Christ, said. “It was shocking.”

Walke, along with the Rev. Scott Spencer and the Rev. Kent Doss, were part of a group of about 10 local clergy who joined at least 600 spiritual leaders from all over the country in the Minnesota city that has been the site of a highly publicized U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdown being countered by growing anti-ICE protests. The anti-ICE demonstrations increased in Minneapolis and other parts of the country in the wake of the Jan. 7 fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by ICE agent Jonathan Ross.

“Minneapolis is under occupation and people there are really frightened, and for good reason,” Walke said. “At the same time, I will say that it was a church full of hope because there is mass organization of the people in Minnesota for collective care, mutual aid, protection of their neighbors and a clear and obvious, firm stand against ICE.”

The Oklahomans said they were able to join ICE patrol watch groups as “legal observers” of what was taking place on Lake Street one evening. Walke said they saw ICE agents demand to see the

papers of a woman driving down the street. After showing the agents her documentation, she was able to proceed down the street. Walke said after the encounter, the woman told the group of clergy that their presence mattered.

Doss, senior minister of First Unitarian Church of Oklahoma City, said he realized how quickly ICE agents are taking action, with detainment occurring in under a minute and people whisked quickly off the streets.

“What was surprising to me wasn’t that it happened but that it happened very quickly and somewhat secretively,” he said. “ICE is increasingly covert and fast in their operations, which to me, speaks volumes about what they’re doing.”

Spencer, senior minister of Mosaic Community Church-United Church of Christ, said he went to Minneapolis primarily to listen and learn and also to engage in acts of witness. He learned that many of the Minneapolis faith leaders and their congregations had been working together for years on a variety issues that community members consider important.

“Hearing the stories of what is happening was gut wrenching,” he said.

He said the Oklahoma faith leaders made the trip to learn more about how they, too, can band together to help their immigrant neighbors in their own cities and towns, “especially if we experience an escalation of ICE presence here that results in increased fear and anxiety and confusion.”

Doss said he felt the trip was worthwhile because it helped show the Minneapolis spiritual leaders that others across the country care about what is happening in their city.

“The people who were welcoming us, both the staff at the church where we were meeting and some of the people who were meeting with us were literally moved to tears by the support, because they feel like the struggle is so present and so oppressive for them,” Doss said.

He said the trip also gave visiting clergy a glimpse of what may occur in other places across the country, including their own cities.

“I’m very convinced that this is going to be in everyone’s backyard soon and not just in Minnesota,” he said. Walke agreed.

“My sincere hope is that people don’t look away from what’s happening in Minnesota — so that we can see what’s coming,” she said.