Chicago Episcopal church celebrates member’s release from ICE custody

[Episcopal News Service] Episcopalians in the Diocese of Chicago are celebrating the release of a church member who was detained last month by federal immigration officials and held in a Michigan facility.

Willian Alberto Giménez Gonzalez, a member of St. Paul and the Redeemer Episcopal Church on Chicago’s South Side, was taken into custody Sept. 12 during a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement traffic stop. He was later taken to an ICE facility in Baldwin, Michigan, north of Grand Rapids. He was released from custody after a federal judge ruled in his favor, saying ICE didn’t have the right to detain him indefinitely without a bond hearing, according to an email sent to church members from its rapid response team.

“He has been reunited with his family, and the empty chair we have endured since Sept. 12 is empty no longer,” the team, which includes clergy and lay leaders, said in the Oct. 30 email. “Today, we rejoice … Willian is home.”

While Gonzalez, an asylum-seeker from Venezuela, was in custody, Chicago Bishop Paula Clark visited him as the diocese rallied in his support in prayer and action. St. Paul and the Redeemer hosted a prayer vigil, and Episcopalians wrote letters of support to the judge. Chicago Episcopalians also donated money to Gonzalez’s commissary account and delivered meals to his wife, Mari.

“Your accompaniment made a difference, and we give thanks for this community that mirrors the radical hospitality of Jesus,” the rapid response team said.

The email said Gonzalez still faces ongoing legal proceedings, legal costs, and wage loss from the time he was detained. The National Day Laborer Organizing Network has so far raised nearly $11,000 to support Gonzalez and his family.

St. Paul and the Redeemer plans to celebrate Gonzalez’s release during the Nov. 2 Sunday worship service “to give thanks for God’s faithfulness and to recommit ourselves to walking alongside our siblings in Christ through whatever lies ahead.”

Since September, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has taken an increasingly aggressive approach toward immigration enforcement in Chicago, the United States’ third-largest city, as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to ramp up arrests and deportations and fulfill a campaign promise of sharply reducing both legal and illegal immigration. By early October, the Trump administration said that more than 1,000 migrants had been arrested in the Chicago area.

The Diocese of Chicago has been active in helping immigrant communities and their supporters across northern Illinois respond to the presence of ICE and threats of arrest.

“We urge all diocesan churches, clergy, and laity to get involved as we redouble our efforts to welcome the stranger, protect the vulnerable and respect the dignity of every human being,” a Sept. 10 statement from a group of diocesan ministry letters said, affirming that Chicago Episcopalians were “standing in solidarity with immigrants and asylum-seekers.”