A returned Maryknoll lay missioner reflects on an interfaith mobilization in Minneapolis to stand with immigrant communities.
By Jean Walsh
It was our baptismal call that led my late husband, Joe Regotti, and me to serve as Maryknoll lay missioners in Mexico three decades ago. That same call led me to travel from Ossining, New York, to Minneapolis last week as one of 700 clergy from across the country.
For two days, Jan. 22 and 23, we stood with the besieged immigrant community there. Returning on Saturday — while still on the plane after landing at LaGuardia airport — I learned of the killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents earlier that morning.
The organization Multifaith Antiracism Change and Healing (MARCH), an interfaith religious coalition in Minneapolis, had put out an urgent call asking faith leaders to come and witness what was happening in their city. They asked us to “bear the burden together” of the impact of Immigration and Customs Enforcement on their neighborhoods. Rooted in the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., they echoed “A Call to Selma” in their invitation, “A Call to Minneapolis: Faith Leaders Answering History in a Time of Peril and Possibility.”
Jesus sent out the disciples in pairs. I found comfort in the company of my longtime friend, the Rev. Renata Eustis, a Lutheran pastor. Our convened group represented different faith traditions and cultural realities, with people of many ages.
Jean Walsh, left, and friend Renata Eustis joined an estimated 50,000 marchers at the Target Center in Minneapolis to protest the immigration enforcement surge in that city. (Courtesy of Jean Walsh/U.S.)
Gathered in a large downtown church on the first day, we heard songs, poetry and testimonies from local civic and religious leaders. They related the horror of abductions, family separations and the tragic killing of Renee Good by an ICE officer.
Later that morning, we divided up to visit impacted communities. My group of 200 of us traveled to a neighborhood devastated by ICE, where many local stores and restaurants have closed. We walked through the neighborhood wearing our clergy stoles and purchasing items from stores that were still open. We had a sacred encounter with one store owner, an immigrant himself.
He proudly told us that he had personally helped more than 3,000 people to fill out Delegation of Parental Authority (DOPA) forms. The DOPA is a legal document allowing a parent to temporarily authorize another adult to care for their child and is essential for immigrant families in case the parents are detained.
That afternoon, a Native American spiritual healer from the Lakota Nation invited us to center ourselves in both prayer and action, an important grounding for the following day’s work. In the evening, the visiting clergy traveled to different houses of worship for dinner. Rev. Renata and I went to a synagogue that welcomed us and fed our stomachs and our spirits.
On Friday, all the faith leaders joined Minnesotans for the National Day of Truth and Freedom, demanding that ICE leave their state. Approximately 100 clergy members from Minnesota participated in nonviolent civil disobedience at the airport, where three flights depart daily with immigrants who have been abducted and are being deported. The theme for their action was “Business as Usual Does Not Fly.”
In the meantime, hundreds of us visited local churches and community centers to deepen our knowledge of what was happening. At the church where Rev. Renata and I went, leaders told us of their many programs to support the immigrant community: a healing center, a feeding program and a free health clinic. The pastor asked the visiting clergy to lead a procession and to sing as we slowly walked around the block, explaining that many people live in fear and do not leave their homes.
We also heard from a panel of young adults in the neighborhood who have coordinated a rapid response network. Noting that “many blocks got organized after George Floyd,” they shared stories of accompanying children to school and following ICE vehicles — or being followed by them.
As the panel concluded, the pastor announced that an ICE abduction had just occurred in the neighborhood and that people fleeing had been hurt. The injured were being treated downstairs at the health clinic. The church went into lockdown, and we sang and prayed.
When the lockdown ended, we made our way downtown, marching with 50,000 others to the Target Center. My heart was warm, even though the weather was freezing cold. Ushered into the center, we heard the national anthem of the Dakota people being sung and then listened to religious leaders. Union leaders spoke of their demand that ICE leave Minnesota, as well as holding accountable the ICE officer responsible for Renee Good’s murder.
After the event at the center, we headed to the final stop of our pilgrimage, Shiloh Baptist Ministries in North Minneapolis, which was ending its day of fasting and prayer with a prayer service. Over and over, the speakers lifted up Dr. King, repeating his words: “No lie can live forever” and “Truth pressed to the earth will rise.”
The final pastor to speak called us to further action, reminding us that, as Dr. King said, “we cannot be neutral.” With confidence, he remarked, “We are in Kairos time — a time of possibility.” We received the benediction to go forth to “overcome evil with good.”
Learning of Alex Pretti’s shooting on my return, I was deeply saddened, but my baptismal call will not let me despair. Jesus keeps calling, and I pray I will keep responding. Let all of us continue to do what we can, as often as we can, to overcome evil with good.
Featured image: A young woman becomes emotional at a makeshift memorial in Minneapolis Jan. 25, 2026, at the site where a man was fatally shot by federal agents trying to detain him Jan. 24. Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis, along with other Church leaders, have called for peace amid growing tensions. (OSV News/Tim Evans, Reuters)
