A CALL FROM
MINNEAPOLIS
FAITH LEADERS ANSWERING HISTORY
IN A TIME OF PERIL AND POSSIBILITY
OUR NEIGHBORS ARE MISSING
Missing from our streets, our congregations, our homes. Each life that ICE took from ours left a memory-shaped hole. With your help, we held the line that protected some neighbors from unlawful abduction, watched the ouster of occupation architects and cabinet officials, saw ICE abandon Occupation Metro Surge, and cheered for the Constitution when the DOJ abandon its prosecution of false charges against Minnesotans. For all of this and all the moments of connection and joy and bravery that helped us hold the whole during the violence of the occupation, we are deeply grateful.
Today, though, at least 3,523 of our neighbors are— gone. Mothers. Grandfathers. Teachers. Merchants. Children. Neighbors.
Gone.
Image from The end of Operation Metro Surge, in data, Alyssa Chen | Minnesota Reformer (Feb. 23, 2026)
According to federal data, the U.S. sent about a third of our Minnesota neighbors detained during Operation Metro Surge to Texas. So that’s where we’re going next. We’re sending delegations to Texas to build relationships with those who are caring for our neighbors on the other side of this human pipeline.
We were clear when we issued the call to Minneapolis that it was not a one-time event. It was an initial act of collective responsibility—rooted in relationship, spiritual grounding, and commitment to communities facing heightened harm and scrutiny in this moment. As this work continues, MARCH remains committed to supporting the congregations and faith communities who are stepping forward— wherever they are. We we weave the cloth of connection that will catch as many neighbors as we can in this freefall.
SUPPORT THE WORK AHEAD
We invite you to join our delegation work with a donation to MARCH to help sustain this work and to support the faith communities who are holding the weight of this moment.
Your contribution directly supports:
Safety and security needs for faith leaders traveling to and receiving delegations
Continued coordination and care for faith leaders, partners, and neighbors
Ongoing organizing, formation, and accompaniment rooted in accountability
Our call was always bigger than one gathering. Thank you for being part of what comes next.
ECHOES OF SELMA— A CALL ANSWERED, A CALL RENEWED
On Monday, March 8, 1965, as state violence was unleashed against Black citizens in Selma, Martin Luther King Jr. penned a telegram to clergy across the nation:
In the vicious maltreatment of defenseless citizens of Selma, where old women and young children were gassed and clubbed at random, we have witnessed an eruption of the disease of racism which seeks to destroy all of America. No American is without responsibility. All are involved in the sorrow that rises from Selma to contaminate every crevice of our national life. The people of Selma will struggle on for the soul of the nation, but it is fitting that all America help to bear the burden. I call therefore, on clergy of all faiths representative of every part of the country, to join me for a ministers’ march to Montgomery on Tuesday morning, March 9th. In this way all America will testify to the fact that the struggle in Selma is for the survival of democracy everywhere in our land.
That call was answered.
Clergy came from across the country. Among them was Rev. James Reeb, who was brutally beaten and later died from his injuries. Alongside the lives of Jimmie Lee Jackson and Viola Liuzzo, his sacrifice stands as a permanent reminder of the cost of answering history when conscience demands it.
It is in that same spirit—and with that same clarity—that we issue this call now.
THE CALL TO MINNEAPOLIS — 2026
In the targeted violence against immigrant communities from Latine and Somali neighborhoods—where families are being torn apart by masked agents, where communities are organizing, resisting, and protecting one another, and where Renee Good’s life has been taken with reckless disregard for the preciousness of human life—we are witnessing an eruption of corruption, racism, and the worship of money over life itself, now threatening the soul of this nation.
No American is without responsibility for the 600+ and growing number of people kidnapped and missing from our communities, nor for Renee’s murder. All are involved in the sorrow that rises from Minneapolis and contaminates every crevice of our national life.
The people of Minneapolis will continue to struggle for an end to suffering and violence, and to redeem the soul of this nation. But this moment also demands that others come—to witness what is being tested here, to learn from how communities are responding, and to help bear the burden together. What is unfolding in Minneapolis will not stay here.
We therefore call on clergy and faith leaders of all faiths, representative of every part of the country, to join us for a day of witness and resistance—a working convening rooted in accountability to impacted communities and designed to build the relationships, skills, and commitments needed for sustained action across the country.
In this way, all who come will bear witness to the fact that the struggle in Minneapolis is for a new America, a new Beloved Community, and a new democracy everywhere in the world.
OUR PURPOSE
The clergy call and gathering on the 22nd is intended to amplify and support the demands of 1/23:
1. ICE must leave Minnesota immediately.
2. The officer who killed Renee Good must be held legally accountable.
3. No additional federal funding for ICE in the upcoming Congressional budget and ICE should be investigated for human and Constitutional violations of Americans and our neighbors.
4. We call upon Minnesota and national companies to become 4th Amendment businesses, cease economic relations with ICE, and refuse ICE entry or using their property for staging grounds.
Visit ICE Out Now MN and May Day Strong for more information.