US EditionEvanston Church’s Nativity Depicts Baby Jesus Zip-Tied by ICE Agents
The display links Jesus' refugee story to local immigration issues, inspired by an incident involving a child zip-tied, prompting community restoration efforts.
- On Dec. 5, 2025, Lake Street Church of Evanston displayed a Nativity featuring a plaster Baby Jesus with zip-tied hands, framed as depicting forced family separation amid federal crackdowns.
- Associate Minister Jillian Westerfield said the installation responds to Operation Midway Blitz and local detainments, linking the display to Gospel teachings on treating neighbors.
- The display features Roman centurions depicted as ICE agents, the infant wrapped in a mylar-style emergency blanket, gas masks on Mary and Joseph, and continues the church's history of political nativity sets including a 2023 Gaza homage.
- Parts of the installation were damaged, with Mary's gas mask removed and the baby Jesus' zip ties cut, while NBC Chicago sought comment and DHS denied children's wrists were zip-tied.
- On Saturday, Woolf is inviting church members and neighborhood residents to restore the Nativity amid continued federal enforcement, including Operation Catahoula Crunch and heightened presence in Chicago and other major cities.
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Church displays political Nativity scene with Jesus in zip ties and centurions as ICE agents
An Illinois church is facing scrutiny for politicizing its Christmas Nativity scene to criticize immigration enforcement efforts.Rev. Dr. Michael Woolf of Lake Street Church of Evanston compared the plight of illegal aliens to the Roman Empire trying to kill Jesus Christ in the biblical account of his birth.'If you read the Gospels, how we treat our neighbors is how we are treating Jesus.'"Jesus was born into a context ... the Roman Empire, righ…
Church’s Nativity depicts baby Jesus zip-tied by ICE
By Richard Requena, Chicago Tribune (TNS)EVANSTON, Ill. -- Mother Mary wearing a respirator mask to protect herself from tear gas. Baby Jesus with zip-tied hands, wrapped in a thin blanket that looks like aluminum foil. Masked centurions with sunglasses and green vests labeled “ICE.”
Zip-Tied Baby Jesus Guarded by ICE Agents in Illinois Church Nativity Scene
If Jesus comes to the U.S., he'd better have a valid visa ... at least that's the worry of an Illinois church that's installed a controversial Nativity scene depicting the baby messiah zip-tied in a manger. Lake Street Church of Evanston
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