Oak Lawn United Methodist Church in Dallas installed a nativity on Dec. 8 that portrays the Holy Family as modern migrants confined behind a barbed-wire, chain-link fence to draw attention to migrants and people experiencing homelessness. The outdoor display on rainbow-painted steps features signs reading "Holy is the refugee," while an indoor installation includes empty chairs and a board marked "ICE WAS HERE." Church leaders say the display is intended as a moral prompt to encourage compassion; supporters praised the message, while critics view it as politically provocative.
Dallas Church Places Holy Family Behind Barbed-Wire Fence to Spotlight Migrants and the Unhoused
A Dallas church set up an outdoor nativity depicting the Holy Family behind a chain-link fence to highlight migrant and refugee issues.
Oak Lawn United Methodist Church in Dallas has installed a provocative nativity display that depicts Mary, Joseph and the infant Jesus as modern migrants confined behind a chain-link fence wrapped in barbed wire. The outdoor tableau, placed on the church's rainbow-painted front steps, includes silhouette figures and signs that read "Holy is the refugee" and "Holy are the profiled and patrolled." The congregation unveiled the installation on Dec. 8.
Oak Lawn United Methodist Church in Dallas installed this nativity depicting the Holy Family behind a fence on its rainbow-painted steps as part of a migrant-themed holiday display.
What the Display Shows
Alongside the outdoor silhouettes, the church created an indoor installation featuring empty chairs, protest-style placards and a manger beneath a painted wooden board reading "ICE WAS HERE." Interior signs ask, "Where is Mary?", "Where is Joseph?" and "Where is Jesus?"
A Dallas church created this immigration-themed nativity scene with signs asking "Where is Mary?" and "Where is Joseph?" as part of its holiday display.
Church's Intent
Leaders at Oak Lawn say the display is deliberate and intended as a moral prompt, not a publicity stunt. "Our nativity isn’t a photo-op. It’s a prayer in the shape of a family," the congregation wrote on social media, explaining that the Holy Family was placed "inside the kind of space too many folks sleep in right now — tarps, fencing, harsh wire. Not for shock, but for truth." Associate Pastor Isabel Marquez told local reporters the imagery aims to call attention to the realities faced by migrants and people experiencing homelessness and to invite compassion.
Local Reactions
Responses from neighbors and passers-by were mixed but included supportive voices. Sean Garman, who lives nearby, described the display as a timely commentary on border politics and detentions. Another resident, Sarah Perkins, called it "a modern interpretation of what the gospel says," noting that Jesus was historically a migrant and refugee.
Context and Recent Church Actions
This is not the first time Oak Lawn United Methodist Church has made public statements through visual actions. In October the congregation painted its steps in rainbow colors as an act of solidarity with the LGBTQ community after state-level disputes over rainbow-decorated crosswalks. In 2022 the church appointed two openly gay pastors, an action reported as a departure from local episcopal direction. Local and national coverage of the nativity has framed it both as moral and prophetic art and as a politically charged statement amid heated national debates over immigration enforcement and cultural issues.
Bottom line: The nativity aims to center migrants and the unhoused in the Christmas story; supporters view it as an ethical call to care, while critics consider it an overtly political gesture.
