EVANSTON, Ill. – An Illinois church is facing criticism for displaying a Nativity scene that depicts baby Jesus with his hands zip-tied and guarded by figures styled as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

Lake Street Church of Evanston is displaying the scene outside on its grounds. Baby Jesus is wrapped in a thin blanket resembling aluminum foil, which the church said is a reference to the emergency blankets used in detention facilities. Masked centurions, officers in the ancient Roman army, are depicted in sunglasses and green vests labeled “ICE.”

It also shows Mother Mary wearing a respirator mask “to protect herself from tear gas,” according to the church. Joseph is also masked. 

In a Facebook post last week, the church said the installation reimagines the Nativity as a scene of forced family separation, drawing parallels between the Holy Family’s refugee flight and modern immigration detention practices.

“This installation reimagines the nativity as a scene of forced family separation, drawing direct parallels between the Holy Family’s refugee experience and contemporary immigration detention practices,” the post reads.

“‘The Holy Family were refugees. This is not political interpretation, this is the reality described in the stories our tradition has told and retold for millenia,’” it continues. “‘By witnessing this familiar story through the reality faced by migrants today, we hope to restore its radical edge, and to ask what it means to celebrate the birth of a refugee child while turning away those who follow in that child’s footsteps.’”

The church, which also hangs Black Lives Matter banners and social justice banners, said the zip ties on the baby’s wrists directly reference children who were zip-tied by agents during a raid on a Chicago apartment building earlier this year. The church claims most residents were U.S. citizens in that incident. It called the display a stark reminder that “enforcement terror does not discriminate by documentation status.”

In recent days, it appears Mary’s gas mask has been removed, while the zip ties have been cut from the baby Jesus’ hands.

The Facebook post and display drew both criticism and praise from commenters.

“Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem because they had to return to Joseph’s ancestral home to be counted in the census,” one person wrote. “So Trump is just following that example and sending people HOME per a legal requirement. If they want to immigrate LEGALLY, they can fill out the paperwork before they leave and self-deport.”

“Blasphemy!!! Father forgive them, they know not what they do,” another wrote. 

A different commenter argued the church had misinterpreted the Bible: “The Holy Family were refugees… do you guys read the Bible? Mary and Joseph travelled as required by Caesar’s census requirement, NOT refugees.”

Others supported the display, with one user calling it “very powerful art.”

“Out of all the tragedy affecting my community, I’m glad powerful art is being used to address the issues that trolls make fun of,” one person wrote. “Hoping more displays like this come out to trigger the masses in a positive way.”

Lake Street Church has staged politically themed Nativity scenes before. In 2023, it set up a display showing Baby Jesus alone amid rubble as an homage to civilians trapped in the war in Gaza, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Rev. Michael Woolf, a senior minister at Lake Street Church of Evanston, was among 21 people arrested on Nov. 14 outside the ICE processing facility in Broadview, Illinois.

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