Like many, I have been watching the recent events in Minneapolis with sadness. The conflicts between Border Control agents, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and anti-ICE protestors have left two people dead. Reactions to the deaths have varied, which reflect the political divisions that are present in our country.

Both sides had their own version of what happened. Each left out essential details that would have cast their side in a bad light. Truth, the first casualty in war, did not appear as a priority in most of the early reports. The government blamed the protestors, while the protestors blamed the law enforcement’s heavy handed tactics. The media on both sides selected facts and disregarded others to support their chosen narratives. The most bizarre deception involved the face of Alex Pretti, one of those killed, being enhanced with a squarer jawline, smaller nose and a suntan, when shown by MSNOW. 

This is a time when rhetoric should die down and cooler heads should prevail. If the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti were unlawful, then the law should be applied and those responsible be brought to justice. There remain questions that need to be answered. Why were local police not deployed to prevent the direct confrontations? Is it right to arrest illegal immigrants and send them home? How far can law enforcement officers go in carrying out their duties? Can a citizen disregard the law when they feel a moral justification to do so?

Late last week a letter appeared, https://delaware.church/whose-dignity-matters/ signed by 154 bishops of the Episcopal Church, in response to events in Minnesota. The letter calls upon "people of faith to stand by your values and act as your conscience demands.” It also asks this question, twice: “Whose dignity matters?” Toward the end of the letter it answers its own question: “Everyone’s.” Well, yes.

The bishops see the situation very much in black and white terms: they call on elected officials - by which they mean ICE and the government - to remember the rule of law. They do not say whether the rule of law also extends to those interfering with the exercise of the law. For this reason, I do not think the letter goes far enough.

Nowhere does the letter discourage the kind of behavior that resulted in the deaths of the two protestors. In the case of Alex Pretti, is it right to attend a protest armed with loaded pistol and spare ammunition, and then swear and spit on ICE officers before kicking out the tail light of their vehicle? That was eleven days before he engaged with ICE officers again and was killed. 

I was hoping that the bishops would call for calm on both sides of the conflict. Instead, they call on people to “act as your conscience demands.” This is not always good advice. If a neighbor is an illegal immigrant with a violent criminal record, one person’s conscience may compel them to inform the police. Another person, whose conscience believes that all immigrants have the right to stay, may instead try to protect them. 

I am sure the anti-ICE protestors who stormed Sunday worship at a church in St Paul’s, Minnesota on January 18, 2026 were acting “as their conscience demanded.” Families inside, including many small children, were terrified and thought they were going to be killed. Protestors shouted at children, “Do you know your parents are Nazis? They’re going to burn in hell.” I doubt the bishops condone this kind of protest but, if not, why haven’t they condemned the perpetrators? 

The bishops’ letter, rather than helping to calm the situation, may be seen by some as a one-sided response. It is meant to show solidarity with the illegal immigrants who live in fear of being arrested and deported. However, the letter does not address the key issues which have led us to where we are. It is, rather, a sign to the world of where they stand. That’s fair enough, but it could have been so much more.

Fr. David