On the fourth day of our pilgrimage we started our day by visiting an ICE processing facility. Well, visiting is a strong word. Our group was certainly not going to be allowed in for a guided tour. But it was on our itinerary to go and pray in front of the building. As we arrived at the facility, our pilgrimage leader, Ana, asked that someone with a collar go to the gate and speak with an ICE agent to notify them that we’d be out front praying. I said I would do so, and asked what specifically I should tell them.
“Just tell them that we are with a church group, that we will be out front praying, and that we will be praying for them too.”
Oh.
Of course. We will pray for them too. Of course we will. I hadn’t actually thought of that.
The distance from the mouth of the driveway to the actual gate was probably 50 yards. The guard saw our group, and saw me walking toward him, and stepped out of his little shack and prepared for whatever it was I was about to say. I found myself instinctively wanting to make sure he knew I meant no harm – I pulled my hands out of my pockets, and I even waved at him. He nodded back. When I got to him, I just did as Ana had told me: I said, hi we’re with a church group and we’re going to be out front praying for a bit – and we’re going to be praying for you too. He thanked me for letting him know, and said he’d let his superiors know as well. I thanked him for that and, again instinctively, I stuck my hand out to shake his hand. He took and shook it simply and briefly, and then we went our separate ways.
While we were out front praying, a different ICE agent walked out and was heading down the street. He looked over at us, and we made eye contact. Perhaps reflexively, he reached to his neck, and pulled up the face mask that had been resting there so that his face would now be covered and his identity was obscured. My very first feeling was derision. It really was. There is a natural cynicism that arises in me when I see someone representing our government who feels the need to hide their identity because of what they are doing. I grew up watching the cartoons where the executioner with the axe wore the big mask.
My natural response is not a sympathetic one. Don’t do something that is so dehumanizing to others and maybe you won’t have to hide your face in public. I don’t like typing that because I prefer you not see that side of me. But it’s true, and I don’t think I can tell you this story if I pretend otherwise. I do not consider myself an angry person, but I don’t think anger fully contains the feelings I have about our country’s current campaign of terror and systematized torture of our migrant siblings. I understand that is inflammatory language. Sometimes facts are inflammatory.
So there’s this ICE agent walking across the street. And we’re not yelling or screaming or holding signs or marching or protesting in any obvious way. We are 9 people standing in a messy circle holding pieces in paper in front of our faces that contain the litany of prayers and Scripture readings that we are saying aloud. This man sees that and hides his face. And my thoughts were unkind.
I then had to pray for him. Because Ana told me to. And Ana was simply taking her orders directly from Jesus: He was pretty clear about whom we should pray for.
You understand he is covering his face because he is embarrassed and scared. And you know who gets embarrassed and scared? Humans. Because ICE agents are human. That means they are made in the image of God. And that truth about them is unconditional. Unconditional. There is nothing they can do to negate God’s authorship of their lives. They were not created by the Devil. Their active – sometimes eager – participation in a system that intentionally terrorizes and tortures God’s children certainly undermines our ability to see God in them. And it mars their soul. How could it not?
In firing squads numerous shooters are given blanks so every potential executioner can go to sleep with the peace that plausible deniability brings. When we have to lie to ourselves in order to sleep at night, our job is not good for our soul. But participating in evil does not extinguish one’s soul, nor does it nullify their primary identity as human beings created by and utterly belonging to God.
I cannot and will not mince words about the evil that is being done in our name by ICE. Neither can I or will I allow myself to demonize, dehumanize, or hate the people who work for ICE. Dehumanizing the people who are dehumanizing people perpetrates the evil I wish to destroy. It may feel natural. It is not good for my soul. I have to pray for ICE agents – and with the state of my heart as it currently is, I should be praying for them every day.
There is something that doesn’t sit right with me about saying I will pray for ICE agents though. And it’s this: When someone with whom I vehemently disagree tells me they’re going to be praying for me it sure doesn’t feel like a courtesy or a kindness. If you’re unfamiliar with a Christian whom you oppose saying “I’ll be praying for you,” it’s a little like when a Southerner says “Bless your heart,” only more aggressive. It generally means, “I’ll be praying for you to change your mind. I’ll be praying for you to believe what I believe. I will be praying for you to finally be right.”
And, friends, I don’t want anyone to pray for me like that. Which means I have no business praying for anyone else like that. But Jesus told me I have to pray for my enemies, that I have to pray for those who hate me. And Ana told me I have to pray for ICE agents, so what will I pray?
Here’s my prayer: I pray that every ICE agent sees Jesus in every migrant, and then treats them as such. That’s it. And I pray that for myself. That I see Jesus in every person, and then I treat them as such. And I pray that for all of us. That we see Jesus in every person, and then we treat them as such.
I will also pray for ICE to be dismantled, or at least radically reduced in size, function, and funding. I will pray for the people in the detention centers to be freed – as Jesus literally commanded us to pray. And I will pray for the shuttering of ICE facilities – and really all for-profit detention centers. But I will work to make sure these prayers be said with love for the ICE officers. Because I believe the end of this terror campaign will liberate them as well.
