Well! Federal authorities (I assume ICE?) told demonstrators Friday that there would be “no more prayer” in front of or inside the Broadview ICE facility, in a move that mystified local leaders and raised legal questions.
A Mr. "I Know Nothing!" delivered the news to faith leaders and activists standing outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility Friday, speaking after faith leaders were denied entry to the building for the third time Friday. Via BlockClubChicago:
Broadview Police Chief Thomas Mills, whose department helped facilitate the phone call, said that he was “trying to figure out” in discussions with Mayor Katrina Thompson and an attorney if a federal agency could legally ban religious gatherings on land owned by the village. Religious groups previously have been allowed to practice outside the facility, he said.
“I’m just a messenger,” an anonymous voice stuttered over the phone to a huddle of faith leaders and activists standing outside the Broadview immigration processing facility on Friday.
During the call, which took place with a Block Club reporter present, the anonymous representative, told a group of faith leaders and activists that “There is no more prayer in front of building or inside the building because this is the state and it’s not [of a] religious background.”
The police chief told Block Club he was "dumbfounded."
“Every time I talk with [federal officials], it feels like their rules keep changing. We don’t really know what’s happening, I’m sorry I can’t say more. We just want to keep people safe and let them peacefully protest without getting hurt.”
Now, let's put all this in context. No less a personage than POPE FUCKING LEO suggested ICE let the religious folks in to pray with the detainees! That was in response to an incident on Monday, when ICE barred a delegation of clergy (including a Chicago bishop) who asked to enter the Broadview detention center to give communion to the detainees.
Does the Pope read C&L? (Just kidding!) But the very next day, Pope Leo said that the religious rights of detainees need to be considered. “I would certainly invite the authorities to allow pastoral workers to attend to the needs of those people,” he said.
“Many times they’ve been separated from their families for a good amount of time; no one knows what’s happening, but their own spiritual needs should be attended to.”
A delegation of clergy, including a Catholic bishop, tried to bring the inmates holy Communion on November 1, the Catholic feast of All Saints, but were denied access to the facility.
When asked for a response, an unnamed White House spokesperson told Letters from Leo “the pope doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” Ha, ha! Good one, White House spokesperson who sounds suspiciously like Steven Cheung! Guess you told him!
Letters from Leo editor Christopher Hale "asked the same White House spokesperson if President Trump has ever read Jesus’s words in the Gospel of St. Matthew about helping the stranger. They declined to comment."
Then amateur Catholic JD Vance demanded on Twitter that Hale tell him the name of the spokesperson. (JD, we already gave you a good clue!) Always picking the wrong fight, that JD. Maybe go pay attention to the people in your "beloved" Appalachia who were cut off from their food stamps instead?
