USA (MNN) — Large crowds of protesters remain in the streets of Minneapolis as immigration enforcement continues.
Their stated goal is to protect illegal immigrants from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Sixteen activists will soon face federal charges for assaulting officers or interfering with operations, and Attorney General Pam Bondi says she expects more arrests.
“We have great men and women in a tough spot [trying to] enforce laws put in place by our government for the protection of our people,” Steve Prince with Warriors Set Free says.
“Unfortunately, they have [people] working against them that make their job more difficult.”
As part of a major immigration enforcement effort called Operation Metro Surge, ICE agents were deployed to Minnesota’s Twin Cities weeks ago to enforce immigration law and arrest violators.
(Wikimedia Commons/Fibonacci Blue/CC4.0)
The deportation drive has met strong resistance from local leaders and communities, especially after controversial shootings during enforcement actions sparked widespread protests.
Prince says blowing whistles – the demonstrators’ favorite alert method – only serves to escalate tensions. “If we went to their workplace and just blew whistles constantly, that would probably be enough to drive them to make bad decisions,” he explains.
“So these people who are interfering believe they’re doing something right, but they’re really making a hard engagement even more stressful.”
Understanding ICE
ICE agents enforce immigration laws inside the U.S., carrying out arrests and deportations, investigating serious transnational and criminal activity, and coordinating with other agencies to uphold federal law.
Executing these duties often puts officers in high-risk situations. “When those agents are on the ground with a mission to do, they react to the conditions,” Prince says.
“If you could knock on someone’s door and they go, ‘Yeah, you’re right, I’m breaking the law; I’ll just get in the back of the car,’ then that officer doesn’t have the stress of having to go through a competition to see who gets their way.”
ICE agents in Minneapolis
(Wikimedia Commons/Chad Davis – https://chaddavis.photography/sets/ice-in-minneapolis/CC4.0)
This continual exposure to stress takes a toll over time. “To be in a career where physical violence is sometimes required to do your job – that leads to deeper levels of trauma,” Prince explains.
“If you make a mistake, or if you hesitate, [you’re] in life-and-death situations.”
Hope and healing
Warriors Set Free, a division of Set Free, helps first responders find healing in Christ for job-related stress and trauma. Learn more here.
“We do a freedom appointment. It’s a one-day spiritual house cleaning,” Prince says.
“We set the conditions for them to be open and vulnerable because we’re cut from the same cloth. Military, law enforcement, firefighters, and emergency workers have a mentality that’s different than a normal civilian’s,” he continues.
“If you’ve ever been in a gunfight, you can understand a story from someone else who’s been in a gunfight better than if you’ve only seen it in movies.”
How to pray
Pray for the people who put themselves in harm’s way to protect U.S. communities. “Let’s cover both the ICE agents, law enforcement, in prayer, but let’s also pray for those who are in open rebellion and those who are supporting this rebellion,” Prince says.
“If the Holy Spirit moves in the hearts of those doing wrong, then it would make the job for law enforcement that much better.”
Pray against a spirit of fear in immigrant communities. Many fear the authorities because of images from Minneapolis and certain media narratives. However, as Romans 13 explains, individuals have nothing to fear when they’ve done nothing wrong.
“God put people in place to punish the wrongdoer, and without that, we would have full chaos and full anarchy. There are other cultures that live under constant chaos because they don’t have authorities in place to punish the evildoer,” Prince says.
“We’re extremely blessed that we have young men and women who continue to put on uniforms to protect us from evil, both foreign and domestic.”
In the header image, protesters prepare to march at the Ice Out of MN march in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Wikimedia Commons/Lorie Shaull/CC4.0)
