Over 100 clergy leaders were arrested in the U.S. after staging a prayer protest demanding an end to ICE deportation raids.

Over 100 clergy leaders from different faiths were arrested on Friday, January 23, during a demonstration against immigration raids at Saint Paul-Minneapolis International Airport.

Images circulated online showed police guiding religious leaders away as they remained kneeling in prayer, voices raised in chants of “ICE out” to demand an end to deportation operations.

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The clergy were cited for misdemeanor trespassing and failure to obey a peace officer before being released, said Jeff Lea, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Airports Commission.

Reverend Mariah Furness Tollgaard of Hamline Church in St. Paul said police ordered them to leave, but she and others chose to stay and be arrested to show support for migrants, including members of her congregation who are afraid to leave their homes. 

Faith in Minnesota organized the demonstration in punishing subzero temperatures of approximately -20°F (-29°C), as a severe winter storm swept the United States. 

Since an ICE agent shot and killed 37-year-old mother Renee Good on January 7, community members and activists have gathered daily in the Twin Cities to protest, leading to repeated clashes with federal agents.

Additionally, public attention has grown due to the detention of several minors in Texas detention centers, including a five-year-old child held with his father. Human rights organizations and religious groups have denounced abuses and conditions in these facilities, calling for transparency and independent oversight.

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