Amid ICE Raids, Local Religious Leaders Commit To Sanctuary

MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS, NY — After a week of ICE raids rattled migrants across the five boroughs, many of New York City's most prominent religious leaders gathered in Morningside Heights on Wednesday night to reaffirm their commitments to protecting and providing sanctuary for New York City's migrants in their houses of worship.

The interfaith service, which was held at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine, united New Yorkers in calling for strength and protection amid mass deportation efforts and emphasizing shared commitments to providing safe spaces for migrants in their communities.

“I wanted to share [a Sikh teaching] with you all today … ‘I don’t see any strangers, I don’t see any enemies, all I see is my people," Simran Jeet Singh, an assistant professor of interreligious histories at Union Theological Seminary, said to the crowd.

Rev. Matthew Heyd, the 17th Episcopal Bishop of New York, led the service.

Heyd told the crowd that the Episcopal Diocese was one of the many faith organizations that filed a joint lawsuit against the Trump administration over its change in policy relating to detaining immigrants in “sensitive locations” — in other words, places of worship.

“This is why yesterday, we joined with other faith institutions a lawsuit affirming that the removal of sensitive sites protection violates the deepest of our civic traditions and our First Amendment rights," Heyd said. "Everyday, we’re going to open our doors, provide belonging, provide sanctuary to everybody."

The service also had participation from faith leaders including Rabbi Hilly Haber, Rev. Al Sharpton, Rev. Eva Suarez, Cantor Jeremy Sipe, Rev. Adrienne Thorne, Rev. Fred Davie, Rabbi Stephanie Ruskay, Rev. Jacqui Lewis, Rev. Doyeon Park and Rev. Liz Theoharris, representing communities including Union Theological Seminary, Jewish Theological Seminary, Middle Collegiate Church, Manhattan Won Buddhist Temple, the Kairos Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice, and more.

Sharpton, the founder and president of the National Action Network, closed the ceremony, and spoke about the inscription on the Statue of Liberty, which reads, "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."

"Now, places of sanctuary – churches, hospitals – are now being told they can be invaded," Sharpton said. "We come tonight saying we must have the courage to stand up for what this country has represented for centuries."

To see a livestream of the event, click here.

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