Scores of people marched ¾ of a mile from downtown North Chicago to an entrance of Naval Station Great Lakes, then walked seven times around a circle symbolizing the Biblical Walls of Jericho and back, protesting the Trump administration’s “Midway Blitz.”
Representatives of seven congregations representing multiple faiths offered a prayer before each marching rotation and Rabbi Ike Serotta of Makom Solel Lakeside in Highland Park blew the ram’s horn trumpet, or shofar, symbolizing the blasts that helped bring down the walls of Jericho.
“We’re here to abolish ICE on our Jericho walk,” the Rev. Beth Johnson of the Unitarian Church of Hinsdale said. “Each time we walk around, we will hear the sound of the shofar. On the seventh blast, we will bring the walls down. Bringing those walls down brought people together.”
Johnson and Serotta were among the faith and community organizers who led the march and prayer service of more than 250 people protesting the actions during the first two weeks of the Trump administration’s Midway Blitz on Saturday in North Chicago.
Organized by Arise Chicago, a workers’ rights organization and Mano a Mano Family Resource Center in Lake County, the combination march, prayer service and protest brought people of faith together to fight what they consider the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s abuse with prayer and peace.
“This is a call to action,” Mano a Mano executive director Dulce Ortiz said. “We will be here for you,” she added, referring to people who encountered ICE agents, whether they were illegally in the U.S. or legal citizens.
The Rev. Brendan Curran, a Catholic priest from Chicago, said ICE grabs people before they have any idea if they are in the country illegally. He spoke about a woman whose car was surrounded by ICE agents after taking her children to school.
“They asked for proof she was documented,” Curran said. “They just look for someone who is Brown or speaks Spanish. It’s racial profiling. Why should it be this way in our country? There has to be a better way.”
Serotta said he was participating in part because a vast majority of Americans came to the United States seeking refuge in some form. He sees the people ICE is arresting as refugees, as members of his family once were.
“My ancestors were refugees,” Serotta said. “Unfortunately, some did not come soon enough and were killed in the Holocaust. The people I encounter are seeking asylum. They are going through the legal process.”
The Rev. Amy Heinrich of the First Presbyterian Church of Libertyville was another participant who said she was there to make a difference. She believes bringing clergy and the other members of the group will hopefully make a difference.
“I’m here to demonstrate my faith, my compassion, prayerfully and peacefully, to temper some of what is going on in our community,” Heinrich said.
Before the march began, the crowd gathered in downtown North Chicago for prayer and inspiration. Cynthia Rodriguez with Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, said everyone must be vigilant.
“We have to look out for one another,” Rodriguez said. “Every day, we see people confronted by ICE.”
“They were outside an elementary school in Waukegan the other day,” Ortiz added.
