As immigration raids rattle community, 'I want to stand in solidarity with people who are suffering,' Detroit archbishop says
DETROIT — Detroit Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger joined Catholics and non-Catholics alike Oct. 30 in southwest Detroit's Clark Park in advocating for the rights and dignity of immigrants and calling for just immigration reform.
Strangers No Longer has been hosting a weekly vigil on Friday afternoons in the heart of Detroit’s Mexicantown neighborhood since 2017, standing in solidarity with members of the city’s Latino community who have felt threatened by Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the area.
Kim Redigan, a parishioner of Gesu Parish in Detroit and a member of Strangers No Longer, a lay-led Catholic immigration advocacy group, told Detroit Catholic the vigils began as a way to show support for members of the community, especially young people, who have been traumatized by raids, detentions and deportations targeting parents, neighbors and friends.
“We started in February of 2017 during the first Trump administration when there were waves of (ICE agents) banging on the doors of immigrants, and a social worker in our group spoke of children being traumatized,” Redigan said. “We had children who were wetting their beds, getting into fights, being scared in their own neighborhood.”
Archbishop Weisenburger joined the Clark Park prayer vigil amidst reports in recent days of immigration officials increasingly targeting southwest Detroit, an area with a large Mexican immigrant population.
“After hearing reports of the presence of ICE officials in the area, I wanted to stand in solidarity with my brothers and sisters, especially in this area,” Archbishop Weisenburger said.
Archbishop Weisenburger recalled that, shortly after he had been appointed to the Archdiocese of Detroit by Pope Francis in March 2025, a priest of the archdiocese informed him of parishioners who were living in fear of deportation, and even self-deporting for fear of risking the wellbeing of loved ones.
“They were going back to a country that they had not been to in years, and it was devastating for them and their parish,” Archbishop Weisenburger said.
Redigan said the prayer group meets weekly at Clark Park — located near Western International High School, Cristo Rey High School and Holy Redeemer School — near the end of the school day as a way to support students.
“It's not really a protest; it's more a sign of friendship and solidarity with that child and all children,” said Redigan, director of campus ministry at Cristo Rey. “That's why we're here when school's getting out.”
Redigan said members have noticed an uptick in harassment from immigration enforcement officials of late, particularly when fellow parishioners of immigrant backgrounds are going to work or church.
As the midterm elections approach on Nov. 3, many members of the community who are naturalized citizens have expressed fears about going to the polls, Redigan said.
“That's why many of us have been trained and are prepared,” Redigan said. “I'm going to be a poll chaplain in a vulnerable community next Tuesday, and I think many of us are doing similar work. Our role is to be a presence to let people know they are safe to come in and vote, to accompany people as they come in to vote, and to keep a close eye on what is going on. There are also people who are poll watchers. That's a different role, but as a poll chaplain, we're there to offer spiritual and emotional support to people coming to vote.”
Vigil participants carried signs bearing messages such as “No human is illegal,” and “Jesus was a refugee.” Archbishop Weisenburger carried a sign reading “Todos Somos Familia,” Spanish for “We Are All Family."
“We as Christians are not permitted not to recognize the face of Christ in others,” Archbishop Weisenburger said. “My only reason for being here today is that I want to stand in solidarity with the people who are suffering. I do recognize the face of Christ in them, and I want to be associated with them.”
Just as Jesus challenged the Pharisees and Sadducees of his day when they were abusing their power, today's Christians must stand up to injustice and avoid "polite religion" that goes along to get along, the archbishop said.
“I think sometimes people want to reduce religion to just sweetness and prayer,” Archbishop Weisenburger said. “And as much as being kind and prayer are critical, to reduce it to that and carve out and excise Jesus' message on justice and dignity of humanity and truth — that's not Christianity. We really must do both.”
Speaking with members of the media after the vigil, Archbishop Weisenburger acknowledged that immigration is a key issue in the upcoming election, adding that the Church teaches that a nation’s immigration laws and enforcement must be rooted in the human dignity of every person.
“Who someone votes for is a complex issue, and Catholicism does not fit in perfectly in any political party,” Archbishop Weisenburger said. “That's one of the reasons the Church is completely nonpartisan in that sense.” However, he added, “the Church always speaks to moral issues. We not only have the right to do that, but we also have a Gospel obligation to do so.”
“The most critical matter when it comes to immigration and voting is that we always have to remember the human dignity of the individual and recognize the presence of Christ and his dignity in each human being,” the archbishop added. “Everyone is created in the image of God.”
