The Christmas festivities are practically universal dates, but it is clear that not everyone experiences them in the same way. And the reality that a Christian church in Chicago (Illinois) wanted to represent in its manger is the one that a person would currently experience. immigrant family in US territory with the immigration policy of the Trump administration.
The characteristics of the members of the biblical scene have been slightly altered. To begin with, the newborn Baby Jesus is handcuffed and covered with aluminum foil as in the migratory centers and the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph with protection of tear gas masks.
“If Jesus had been born in USA right now, ‘what would his manger be like?'” asked those responsible for the Lake Street Baptist Church, in the neighboring city of Evanston, to the north.
“We started talking about how we were going to represent what was happening, connected to sacred history. An immigrant family that had to flee when they were persecuted by King Herod. We saw parallels,” said Jillian Westerfield, an associate minister at the church and the facility’s manager.
This is exactly what churches should be doing, calling out injustice.
📌 Lake Street Church Nativity: a bold social justice statement with ICE-like Roman soldiers, the Virgin Mary in a gas mask, baby Jesus zip-tied, Joseph on the ground, pushing viewers to think about… pic.twitter.com/1OkjxinakB
— Christopher Webb (@cwebbonline) December 5, 2025
Lake Street Church has shied away from the mythical nativity scene with gifts, angels and shepherds; The image, far from being surrounded by peace and love, is guarded by masked centurions with sunglasses and green vests where you can read the word “ICE”.
In the city of Evanston, the harsh images have not left passersby indifferent and there have been many who have bothered for representation.
Parallelisms
Since January, Trump ha strengthened its immigration policytoughening detentions and deportations, to the point of deploying the National Guard in some cities like Chicago. Just as it has expanded the authority of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) and limited access to asylum and humanitarian programs.
Westerfield said they sought to imagine the manger as a scene of forced family separation, drawing parallels between the Holy Family’s experience as a refugee and contemporary immigration detention practices.
Detail of the nativity scene in which it is noted: “ICE was here.”
Remember that, according to the Bible, Herodfearing that a rival had been born, tried to kill Baby Jesus ordering the murder of all the baby boys of Bethlehem. Joseph, Mary, and the child fled to Egypt and became immigrants.
The minister recalled that the bound Baby Jesus is something that was seen in Chicago during the immigration operation ‘Midwest Blitz’; The protective masks worn by Mary and Joseph allude to the weapons used by the federal government against the people in Chicago and Evanston, and not only against those who were protesting, but also against journalists and members of the community.
“Even children preparing for a Halloween parade were victims of gas repression. No one should be treated that way,” he lamented.
Westerfield admits they are disturbing images, but said people should be upset because this is happening to many, not to a doll or mannequin like those in the manger.
Some have described “heresy” and “blasphemy” what the manger shows. Someone even removed the mask that Mary used and the ties to bind the Child Jesus, and they had to be replaced. But the minister assured that the reason for the manger is not political, but rather a moral position.
“This is not a problem of a specific political party or government, it is a long standing problem. The way we show it now is due to the escalation of violence in our communities,” he said.
“The problem of mistreatment of immigrants has been going on for many decades and no one has done what needs to be done to take care of these people,” he emphasized.
Detail of the Chicago Nativity scene.
The Reverend head of the Evanston church, Michael Woolf, has indicated that he hopes those concerned about the manger will reflect on the migrant families fleeing violence and facing separation, detention and dehumanization.
“Furthermore, we hope that conversation will galvanize people to act, regardless of their faith,” he added.
His church, which is a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants and defines itself as an independent congregation, with roots in the Baptist tradition, has organized other nativity scenes with controversial messages. In 2023 the Baby Jesus was surrounded by rubble, in rejection of the people trapped in the Gaza war.