Our Day of Truth and Freedom

JANUARY 23, 2026

Our Day of Truth and Freedom started at the MSP airport.

The purpose of the airport action was to draw attention to the fact that the ICE surge against our neighbors and community members can't happen without the cooperation of businesses and authorities here.

It is not abstract. ICE operates out of the Delta terminal. Their agents seize our neighbors in their homes and jobs. They hold our neighbors at the Whipple Federal Building. Then they transport our neighbors in shackles to MSP Airport where they are loaded onto Signature Airlines planes that fly them out of state, often within 24 hours of their first being seized.

Lisa and I picked up parishioner Angela and our friends Mike and Mahin. We weren’t sure what to expect at the action, but we felt braver going out into the unknown together. Lisa commented, “Jesus sent his disciples in pairs for a reason!” Angela read the scriptures and the Saints Among Us reading for the day from Give Us This Day; Mike read Psalm 10.

“How many people do you think will be there?” Someone asked. I said I didn’t really know, but I hoped as many as 100. We parked in the ramp and, bundled up like astronauts against the cold, made our way down to the sidewalk on the parking ramp side of the departures drop off lanes. It was -12 degrees with a windchill of -20. As we stepped outside, we saw how wrong I was. Not a crowd of 100 but a crowd of more than 1000 had assembled, singing, chanting, holding signs referencing the scriptures. It was peaceful, joyful, even, and incredibly well-organized and disciplined. We found more parishioners there: Arline, Mary, Aaron, Mike, and I'm sure more that we didn't see in the crowd.

Crowd marshals from labor unions in bright yellow vests gave us our instructions. A group of 100 clergy wearing stoles as well as white arm bands over their winter coats gathered at the front of the crowd. They prayed and they preached as the rest of us listened and cheered on. These 100 had stepped forward into the street to commit civil disobedience. The rest of us stepped back and to the side. It was clear this was a new experience for many of them. There was fear in some of their faces, which gave witness to their faith and courage. Then the marshals asked the clergy to spread out in a single line in the street facing the rest of us amassed on the sidewalk, so we could see each other. One pastor led the crowd in singing gospel songs. The crowd joined in and shouted “we love you” and “thank you.” The fear melted away and was replaced by joy and confidence.

A yellow bus backed up to one end of the line. And a line of armored and armed Bloomington Police officers lined up behind the singing clergy. An officer gave three warnings. But none of the clergy left the street.

As the arrests began, the clergy kneeled in the street together, with linked arms and hearts. Most of them knelt on pads they had carried with them. Some of them knelt directly on the cold hard pavement itself. Some led the singing, and some prayed silently with closed eyes, as one by one they were arrested There were so many it took a couple of buses and over an hour to complete the arrests. The crowd stayed with them, singing and shouting encouragement.

There were perhaps 40-50 police officers in total. All were calm and respectful. The whole situation had been negotiated ahead of time so there would be no surprises and therefore limited risk to anyone involved. Yet it sent the strongest message: No police officer or even ICE officer is the enemy. The enemy is the current Administration policy of inflicting violence, cruelty and dehumanization on our neighbors, who came to us as strangers seeking refuge, and whom God commands us to love as ourselves. And against this enemy there is a growing power of ordinary people of faith, led by ordained clergy, who are disciplined, nonviolent, and implacably motivated by love to stand with our neighbor until all of us are freed from this wave of oppression.

Everyone felt it. The people who participated. The police officers too. This was just the beginning of the sacrifices that people would make to set our neighbors free from fear.

We left the airport action jubilant, assured by organizers that the clergy who had been arrested would be processed and released quickly, with or without state trespass charges. We warmed up in front of a fire and with cups of coffee at Mike and Mahin’s house and then Lisa and I left to join the march in downtown Minneapolis.

Given that 1000 people had turned up to a civil disobedience action at the airport that was not publicized, we had the feeling the crowd downtown would be big. But nothing prepared us for how big.

I have been a part of mass demonstrations many times before, the biggest prior to this during the anti-war marches in 2002 and 2003. This dwarfed them all. The crowd overflowed the Commons in front of US Bank Stadium into the streets around it. At no point or time could I see the entire crowd or even its contours or edges, even when I climbed onto berms and retaining walls. Storefront-to-storefront it moved, more than a mile long at times, with the front of the march reaching Target Center nearly an hour before the back of the march arrived there. People also flowed up side streets. Organizers would later estimate the crowd size at 50,000. If anything, it was understated. I didn’t see a single police officer or ICE agent or anyone from law enforcement. None of them could have contained or controlled a crowd that size if they had been there.

There was no need anyway. There was never a sense of danger or chaos. Everything was orderly. People cared for each other. Offered handwarmers. Helped each over icy patches. Complimented each other’s signs. Waved to the people watching from the skyways. Everyone there united in standing with our innocent immigrant neighbors against their daily terrorization and dehumanization by federal violence and inhumanity. It had warmed up to -8 but the wind chill was even worse, being funneled and accelerated through the skyscraper canyons. But no one was deterred. Everyone marched to the end.

As the crowd dispersed with several thousand entering Target Center for the rally, and Lisa and I walked back the mile and a half or so to our car, a man was giving away free cups of hot (and very good) coffee from his van. We took a cup.

And I had the strongest feeling: we will win. It won’t be easy.
There will be sacrifices and there will be painful losses.

But in the end: We will win.

-Phil Steger (pictured below on the left)

Captions provided by parishioner Arline Datu.

We are always looking for ways to give you, our parishioners, the opportunity to share your experiences! If you would like to submit your story, please email Marie at mvalois@morecommunity.org

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Our Day of Truth and Freedom

JANUARY 23, 2026