Outside a red-brick church a few blocks from downtown, the Holy Family stands behind metal barricades. Mary and Joseph wear gas masks. Roman soldiers, reimagined as federal agents, loom nearby. And in the manger, the infant Jesus lies under a thin blanket, his hands bound with zip ties. The tableau is Lake Street Church of Evanston’s Nativity scene this year, assembled to cast the Christmas story in the light of contemporary immigration enforcement, according to reporting by NBC Chicago.
A Nativity Reimagined
Lake Street Church’s leaders say the installation is meant to recall the Holy Family’s flight and fears under Roman rule while inviting viewers to consider families caught in modern detention systems. In a public explanation of the artwork, the congregation described the display as a deliberate effort to place the Christmas narrative “within the visual language of immigration enforcement,” with the goal of prompting reflection about moral values and policy, as detailed by ChurchLeaders.
The church’s staging relies on stark imagery. The infant Jesus, hands restrained, is the focal point; nearby, Mary and Joseph’s protective masks evoke tear gas and crowd-control tactics. Roman soldiers appear as agents in tactical vests. The display, described by NBC Chicago, is intended to bridge a biblical story with present-day questions about the treatment of migrants and asylum seekers.
Community Response
The reaction has been mixed. Some passersby and congregants have welcomed the message of solidarity with vulnerable families, while others bristle at seeing sacred imagery used to make a public policy point, according to NBC Chicago.
Such divides are not unique to Evanston. Churches across the country have periodically reimagined the Nativity to speak to social-justice issues, drawing both praise and pushback. During a prominent display in Southern California several years ago, for instance, one faith leader framed the church’s decision as an urgent moral statement. “We couldn’t think of any other issue that we wanted to keep under the light of the Bethlehem star than the need to address racism,” said Karen Clark Ristine, Senior Minister, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. The paper has documented how politicized Nativity scenes can provoke gratitude from some viewers and discomfort from others who object to religious symbols being enlisted in civic debates, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The Enforcement Backdrop
The Evanston display lands amid a renewed national argument over immigration enforcement and detention conditions. Recent reporting has detailed how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has increasingly relied on small holding facilities where people are kept for days or weeks, a departure from earlier internal policies that limited stays to around 12 hours, raising oversight and conditions concerns, according to The Guardian.
Institutional faith leaders have also moved into the discussion. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops condemned aspects of the administration’s enforcement approach and voiced concern about raids at sensitive locations such as churches, hospitals and schools, as reported by Reuters. On the ground, congregations in different traditions have stepped up precautions of their own: some clergy and lay leaders are training volunteers, recording services and even locking doors out of fear of raids, measures described by AP News.
Seen through that lens, Lake Street Church’s Nativity reads less as an outlier than as part of a broader faith-based response to immigration enforcement. The dramatic staging underscores how a seasonal ritual can become a platform for airing moral concerns about how the nation treats people on the move.
Evanston’s Local Context
Evanston itself is a diverse, civically engaged city where immigration is hardly an abstract issue. The city is home to about 78,110 residents and has a median household income of roughly $93,188, with a per capita income near $63,888, according to the City of Evanston. About 16.5% of residents were born outside the United States, and 90.3% are U.S. citizens, data from DataUSA shows. Those numbers help explain why a Nativity reframed around migration might resonate—and why it might also divide.
Art, Devotion and Debate
By reaching for the imagery of detention and protest, Lake Street Church has turned a familiar Christmas scene into a civic conversation on its front lawn. The installation, described by NBC Chicago, asks viewers to interpret an ancient story through a current policy prism. In doing so, it joins a lineage of religious art that provokes—sometimes uncomfortably—exactly the kind of reflection faith leaders say they hope to inspire, as the church’s statement shared by ChurchLeaders makes clear.
Whether the display moves hearts or stirs controversy, its timing ensures the questions won’t be easily set aside. In Evanston, where a notable share of residents have roots beyond U.S. borders, the scene may function as a seasonal mirror—reflecting back the city’s mix of conviction, compassion and disagreement, and signaling a conversation likely to continue well after the Christmas lights come down.
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