At prayer vigils, church leaders lament Indiana detention centers and immigration policies

Religious leaders from across Indiana gathered on a grassy field at Miami Correctional Facility Monday for a prayer vigil to peacefully protest state and federal immigration policies they called “dehumanizing.” Around 100-150 people showed up to join them in prayer, scripture reading, and song.

They said they have a message for elected officials.

“We gather today in prayerful support and solidarity of our immigrant brothers and sisters,” said the Rev. Matt Landry, “as we also gather in prayerful presence and lament over the detention centers across our state.”

On August 5, the U.S. The Department of Homeland Security announced that it would partner with the Indiana Department of Corrections to use Miami Correctional Facility for detentions. It is located on Grissom Air Reserve Base in North-Central Indiana, just north of Kokomo.

The prison will devote around a third of its beds to detain up to a thousand immigrants at a time.

Landry, who ministers at Castleton United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, helped organize the vigil. He joined other UMC ministers and others in voicing their opposition after the Trump administration announced the partnership with the state.

Indiana Governor Mike Braun directed state agencies and law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration agents

These faith leaders take issue with that.

The Rev. Lore Blinn Gibson, of Wabash First United Methodist Church, read recent words written by the denomination’s Bishop Tracy S. Malone.

“Even more troubling is the language being used to describe these facilities: ‘Speedway Slammer.’ Words that demean the humanity of those affected and make a spectacle of their suffering. Such rhetoric is not only dehumanizing, it is antithetical to the gospel of Jesus Christ,” she read.

The Trump administration gave the facility the unofficial nickname, sparking immediate pushback.

“To equate the pain and displacement of our immigrant siblings with entertainment or speedway culture is to disregard their sacred worth,” Gibson continued.

Those at the vigil, including clergy, represented a coalition from at least half a dozen Christian traditions. Representatives from the United Methodist Church, the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Catholic Church, and Orthodox Mennonites were present.

The Rev. Fatima Yakubu-Madus of the Episcopal Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Indianapolis said she believes the policies create fear.

“Children are being, you know, they are left behind. They are separated from their parents. Their parents are afraid to go to school, to go to stores for groceries,” she said. “It is important, and it should be for everyone — if you really care about your neighbor.”

They join a growing chorus of clergy speaking out against the administration’s enforcement policies.

Just last weekend, the Rev. Felipe Martínez of the advocacy group Columbus Community United led a “vigil for the disappeared” south of Indianapolis. The vigil drew attention to immigrants who have been deported and plans to use the nearby federal base Camp Atterbury to detain immigrants.

People took turns reading the names of people that had been detained in the so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” detention facility in the Florida Everglades.

“Remembering is a form of resistance,” said Martínez. “We remember the detained because this administration wants to forget the humanity of these detainees, to forget that they are our neighbors.”

Camp Atterbury is operated by the Indiana National Guard.

At Miami Correctional Monday, the Rev. Steve Cain of Union Chapel United Methodist Church in Decatur said he thinks part of the problem is that the church doesn’t know how to protest.

“This is major stuff,” he said. “There’s no way you can escape the justice message for those who are sojourners.”

The religious leaders said they want the Monday vigil to be the “start of a movement,” and urged people to contact elected officials.

They’re planning for future demonstrations across the state.

WFYI’s Kyle Long contributed to this report.

WFYI is reporting on the local impacts of immigration policy. If you want to share your story or have a tip, contact WFYI reporter Zak Cassel at zcassel@wfyi.org.