DHS Official: Nativity Scene Portrays Enforcement That Never Happens

(DEDHAM, MASSACHUSETTS) Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons is urging a Catholic parish here to take down a Nativity scene that suggests agents detained Mary, Joseph and Jesus, saying the message describes something that “never happens” in real immigration arrests. The display at St. Susanna Church shows an empty manger and a placard that reads “ICE was here”, with contact details for LUCE, a Massachusetts immigrant defense network. Lyons, a Department of Homeland Security official, said the scene wrongly paints enforcement officers as baby-snatchers. He asked for its removal and said churches should not, in his words, invent raids for sermons.

What the display shows and community reaction

The parish display appeared as federal immigration activity has risen in parts of the United States, and it quickly spread online among people who follow immigration enforcement. The sign beside the manger lists LUCE’s hotline number, echoing the way many advocates tell families to call for help when agents show up at homes or workplaces.

Supporters of the Dedham, Massachusetts scene say it points to fear in immigrant households during raids. Critics say it turns a sacred story into an accusation against ICE officers who follow the law. Lyons said the image suggests agents target children, “which never happens.”

“The church should remove the display immediately because it misleads the public about how ICE works,” Lyons said in comments shared by DHS.

He argued that officers do not sweep into churches and seize families out of religious scenes, and he said the message could put agents at risk by fueling anger. Andrew Doyle, a critic of the display, called it “dehumanizing” to law enforcement and urged the Archdiocese of Boston to step in. He said he feared the scene treats agents as villains instead of public servants.

St. Susanna did not say whether it would comply with Lyons’ demand.

The parish perspective and LUCE’s role

St. Susanna’s pastor, Fr. Michael Josoma, has framed the Nativity scene as a prayerful protest, asking parishioners to imagine “what [Christ] would be facing” if he were born into today’s world. For many Catholic leaders, the birth story has long been tied to themes of flight and refuge, since the Holy Family in scripture runs from danger.

Parishioners who back the Dedham display say it speaks to parents who fear a knock at the door. They say the empty manger invites reflection, not hatred. LUCE volunteers said the hotline connects people to lawyers and rapid-response teams when enforcement action starts.

Similar displays elsewhere and public responses

The Dedham dispute is part of a wider pattern this year in which churches have recast Nativity scenes to comment on immigration raids.

• At Lake Street Church in Evanston, Illinois, organizers placed baby Jesus with zip-tied hands inside a foil blanket, while Mary and Joseph wear gas masks near a fence.
• Figures marked as ICE “Roman guards” stand in tactical gear, a reference to detention centers and family separations.
• The church described the scene as a reimagining of “forced family separation” through a modern lens.

These displays have drawn both praise and sharp backlash. Some sites have also reported vandalism and threats.

Outside Lake Street Church, supporters held a prayer vigil on December 11, 2025, saying they wanted immigrants to feel seen after reports of vandalism at the site. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which often takes positions on immigration policy, recently offered a prayer against “dehumanizing rhetoric… directed at immigrants or at law enforcement.” That careful phrasing mirrors the split now visible in Dedham, where one side hears a call to protect families and the other hears a slur on officers.

Local faith leaders say they are fielding worried calls from parishioners with mixed-status households during the Advent season.

Practical concerns raised by families and legal advocates

Church leaders point to recent enforcement stories that have circulated in immigrant circles, including a Chicago-area street vendor raid in which agents took a money box, according to accounts cited in the debate over the displays.

For families who live paycheck to paycheck, a detention can mean:

• missed rent
• unpaid bills
• children left waiting at school

Immigration lawyers in Massachusetts say clients often ask if they should stop attending services or avoid events when rumors of ICE activity spread. Lyons said such fear should be grounded in facts, not in religious props that suggest babies are taken from mangers.

ICE’s public stance and the dispute’s focus

ICE says on its public site that it works to “protect America from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration that threaten national security and public safety.” In the Dedham dispute, residents have swapped stories about what agents can do when they make an arrest, but Lyons’ complaint stays focused on the church message.

He said the Nativity scene claims agents remove children, and he said that “never happens.” Immigrant advocates reply that raids still split families when a parent is detained, leaving kids scared and without answers. The agency posts basic mission statements at ICE’s website for readers today.

Broader context and local impacts

According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, clashes over immigration symbols have grown as communities feel tension between policy debates and daily life. In Dedham, church members say they are not trying to write legal briefs; they are trying to show empathy for neighbors who fear deportation.

Lyons and his supporters say empathy should not come by blaming agents who carry out orders. The argument has also pulled in local immigrant defense groups, which say the phone number on the sign has brought calls from people asking what to do if ICE arrives. Advocates tell callers to stay calm and call lawyer.

As the argument spreads, Catholic leaders near Boston face pressure from both sides:

1. Some want the Archdiocese to defend the parish.
2. Others want it to back law enforcement.

Lyons has not said what, if anything, would happen if the Dedham church keeps the Nativity scene up, and St. Susanna has not issued a formal reply.

Final reflections

Still, the line “ICE was here” has done its work, pulling a Christmas image into a national fight. For immigrants who have watched a parent taken away, the empty manger reads as absence. For many officers and their families, it reads as shaming.