The Rev. Kent Gilbert, pastor of Union Church in Berea, said he saw ICE arrest reporters and intimidate lawful and peaceful protestors. He added that ICE is already making inroads in Kentucky and deploying similar tactics.
"Twenty-six counties house ICE inmates voluntarily. They're wanting to expand operations and build operational centers outside of Shelbyville," he said. "And all of this suggests to me that we are not seeing any slowdown of these overreaching tactics."
A new poll from the Pew Research Center indicates most Republicans say it is acceptable for immigration officers to increase their presence in neighborhoods with many immigrants and arrest U.S. citizens who help others avoid arrest. Most Democrats disagree.
The same poll also found that, across the aisle, more than 70% of Americans say it is acceptable for people to record video of immigration officers while they make arrests.
Gilbert said churches and faith communities of all kinds came together in Minneapolis because they view ICE tactics as a moral rather than a political issue.
"It is morally wrong to remove the dignity of others," he said. "It is morally wrong to abuse children in order to advance some political goal. It is morally wrong to shoot bystanders. It is morally wrong to oppose the rule of law."
According to the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, there were nearly 2,000 ICE arrests in Kentucky in the first nine months of the Trump administration, and the state’s arrest rate is on the rise.
