It was not enough with the inclusive and faceless nativity scene in Brussels, now, according to the outlet Life Site, several temples in the United States have installed Christmas representations with a marked political content to criticize the actions of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The scenes, which distort traditional Christian iconography, include from a Baby Jesus with plastic ties to messages suggesting an alleged deportation of the Holy Family.
Parish replaces the Baby Jesus with an anti-ICE message
In the Catholic parish of St. Susanna, in Dedham (Massachusetts), the figure of the Baby in the nativity scene was replaced by a poster implying that Jesus would be deported by ICE. The message, placed in the center of the manger, states: “ICE was here. The Holy Family is safe in the Sanctuary of our Church”.
The poster also encourages calling LUCE, a phone line dedicated to tracking the movements of immigration agents. The parish maintains its own “Refugee Resettlement” program, aimed at helping families newly arrived in the country.
Scene with the Baby Jesus tied up and references to protests
In the Lake Street Church of Evanston (Illinois), the installation shows the Baby Jesus with ties on his wrists, represented as detained by ICE. The figure of the Virgin appears with a gas mask alluding to the use of tear gas in protests against immigration agents.
The church defended the setup in a Facebook post:
“This installation reimagines the nativity as a scene of forced family separation, drawing direct parallels between the experience of the Holy Family as refugees and contemporary detention practices”.
In the same message, the congregation stated:
“The Holy Family were refugees. This is not political interpretation, it is the reality described in the stories of our tradition”.
Catholic teaching on immigration and the obligations of the State
Although the Church’s social doctrine emphasizes the dignity of immigrants and the moral duty to welcome those in need, it also recognizes the legitimate right of countries to protect their borders. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), in its document Catholic Social Teaching on Immigration and the Movement of Peoples, reminds that no nation is obliged to admit all those who wish to enter.
“While people have the right to seek a safe and humane life, no country is obligated to accept all those who wish to settle there,” states the USCCB.
The document adds that Catholics should not consider the work of immigration authorities as something intrinsically negative:
“Those who enforce immigration laws do so with loyalty to the common good and compassion toward those seeking a better life”.
The instrumentalization of nativity scenes
The growing instrumentalization of the nativity scene for ideological purposes not only distorts the Christian message, but also constitutes a lack of respect toward the sacred. The nativity scene is not an instrument of ideological pressure, but the symbol of God made man. The Church teaches clearly that religious signs belong to worship and the transmission of faith, not to political campaigns or social propaganda. Turning the Holy Family into a vehicle for activism means disintegrating the spiritual sense of the mystery of the Incarnation.