‘ICE Was Here’ Nativity At Boston-Area Church Sparks Condemnation From ICE And Archdiocese

Controversial Nativity Display at St. Susanna Parish Prompts Calls For Removal

Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons and officials at the Archdiocese of Boston have demanded the removal of a sign reading "ICE was here" that accompanied an intentionally empty manger at a Nativity display outside St. Susanna Parish in Dedham, Massachusetts.

The seasonal installation, organized by the parish’s Peace And Justice Group, included contact information for a Massachusetts immigration-enforcement monitoring organization and left the manger empty as a deliberate statement. Pastor Rev. Stephen Josoma said the annual display is meant as "religious art" that asks visitors to imagine "what it would be like if Christ was born into the context of the world today" and to reflect on contemporary social issues.

"It's supposed to affect people deeply, it's supposed to move people, it's supposed to change people," Josoma told Fox News Digital, adding that a strong reaction may itself prompt reflection.

Lyons denounced the display in a statement to Fox News Digital, calling Josoma's actions "absolutely abhorrent" and saying they "add to a dangerous narrative" he linked to a claimed more than 1,150% increase in assaults on ICE officers. Lyons also criticized the pastor for using his pulpit to advance what he described as an activist agenda and publicly praised the Archdiocese for condemning the installation.

Terrence Donilon, the Archdiocese of Boston's Secretary for Communications and Public Affairs, called the display "divisive political messaging" and said parishioners should expect opportunities for prayer and worship rather than political statements when they attend church. Donilon emphasized that church norms "prohibit using sacred objects for any other purpose than the devotion of God's people" and wrote that St. Susanna Parish neither requested nor received permission from the Archdiocese to depart from canonical norms.

"The display should be removed, and the manger restored to its proper sacred purpose," Donilon said in his statement.

Rev. Josoma has previously staged provocative Nativity scenes centered on issues such as gun control and climate change. In 2018, during President Trump's first term, he reportedly displayed Baby Jesus separated from his parents in a makeshift cage. Other U.S. congregations have also used Nativity displays to critique immigration enforcement; a church in Evanston, Illinois, created a manger in which baby Jesus's hands appeared zip-tied and Joseph and Mary wore gas masks to draw parallels between the Holy Family's refugee experience and modern detention practices.

Fox News Digital reported the story; Olivia Palombo contributed to the reporting.