Deaths in immigration crackdown exacerbate tensions and spark widespread debate.
By Bobby Ross Jr. | The Christian Chronicle
Patrick Doherty’s wife, Corinne, texted him with the news Friday: Agents with ICE — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — had converged on the family’s suburban Minnesota neighborhood.
Doherty preaches for the Woodbury Church of Christ in a growing community east of St. Paul.
“The street we live on is maybe predominantly immigrant,” the father of three said. “For several of our neighbors, English isn’t their first language.”
Mexico. Cuba. Southeast Asia. The East African nation of Eritrea. These are just a few of his neighbors’ native lands.
ICE showing up wasn’t entirely surprising, given that President Donald Trump has made Minnesota a major focus of his administration’s nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration.
Since December, the Department of Homeland Security has deployed about 3,000 federal agents to the state where Tim Walz — the 2024 running mate for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris — serves as governor.
“Most everybody has had some impact by it,” Doherty said of how the crackdown has touched his neighbors and fellow Christians. “It can be everything from their favorite restaurant is shut down because the workers aren’t available to someone they know is detained.”
This story appears in the online edition of The Christian Chronicle.
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