Join us for a prayer vigil and press conference on Tuesday 10/29 at the Whipple Building, South “ICE Only” gates, 1 Federal Drive, Fort Snelling, MN 55111. 8am Vigil, 9am Press Conference.
In the late 1960’s, The Henry Benjamin Whipple Federal Building was named to honor the legacy of the first Episcopal Bishop of Minnesota who was an advocate for Native American Dakota peoples. Today, the Whipple Federal Building holds a regional “deportation machine.” Inside are the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Immigration courts separate families, ICE raids and arrests are planned and executed in our communities, and immigrants are sorted for detention in five Minnesota county jails that operate as immigrant detention centers.
The Episcopal Church in Minnesota and its faith partners call for the General Services Administration to remove DHS and ICE from the building or to remove Bishop Whipple’s name from the building’s façade. This event also serves as the launch for a joint movement to designate Minnesota a Sanctuary State.