John Foley, deputy GOP committeeman for the Evanston Republican Organization, said the Nativity display outside Lake Street Church — which depicts Mary and Joseph in gas masks and a baby Jesus figure with zip‑tied hands flanked by figures styled as ICE agents — is “repulsive” and not what Christmas is about.
The Nativity scene, installed in November, has been repeatedly vandalized.
“What they are doing is repulsive,” Foley told North Cook News. “I wonder why congregants would even go to churches preaching values that are antithetical to American values. I suspect that those with common sense are walking away from these churches and synagogues. Then, they wonder why their congregations are shrinking.”
Lake Street Church’s display is a reference to Operation Midway Blitz, President Donald Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown that has resulted in the arrests of roughly 5,000 illegal aliens in the region since September.
Foley called the display “an embarrassment” to the church and the community.
“Evanston is a very progressive community, but even allowing for that, it truly was just an embarrassment,” he said. “What a great way to diminish the value of your brand. That’s a nice way of putting it. What’s your brand? And I don’t think there’s a lot of people who buy into that brand.”
Foley also criticized the politicization of Christmas, emphasizing traditional religious values.
“This is 100% getting away from what Christmas is about,” he said.
Baby Jesus is shown with zip-tied hands in Lake Street Church’s anti-ICE Nativity scene in Evanston, part of a controversial display reimagining the Holy Family amid modern immigration enforcement. (Facebook / Doug Ibendahl)
Foley, who is Catholic, said the parish he attends stays away from such divisive politics.
“Thank goodness they’re not political. So their membership is nice and strong,” he said. “The three wise men were not illegal immigrants or anything like that, there were three wise men. Why are we diminishing what Christmas, what the birth of Jesus, was to make a political statement? So, it’s really simple: stay in your lane, what is Christmas about? But these churches have decided to be political. I have to think that church attendance in general is down; it’s not right or wrong, it just is. This is how you further suppress attendance at church because they’re doing things that don’t align with the values of their church.”
The display has been repeatedly vandalized, including the decapitation of the Mary statue and removal of zip ties from baby Jesus.
According to ABC 7, church leaders replaced Mary with a sign stating she was “beaten and dragged away in front of her son” and plan to keep the scene through Christmas Eve.
Rev. Jillian Westerfield told ABC 7 the display aims to raise awareness of immigration issues and connect Christian teachings to the treatment of vulnerable populations.
“I bet if you call that pastor and ask how many members were in the church 10 years ago and how many are in that church now, I guarantee you the congregation has shrunk,” Foley said. “The reason why it shrunk is because they became political.”
Observers from outside the area have weighed in as well.
Concerned Parents of Illinois founder Kristina McCloy took to social media to admonish the church.
“This Evanston church did not become political after the vandalism,” McCloy said on Facebook. “They created a woke immigration themed Nativity scene from the start, and the woke media skewed it for them.”
“Now woke churches in Hinsdale, Evanston, and across Illinois are replacing faith with activism, flying LGBTQ and BLM flags, and turning holy symbols into political props.”
“And here is the part no one talks about. This entire system is being kept alive with federal money, Pritzker’s state contracts, local government grants, big foundation dollars, national NGOs, and corporate donors. Catholic Charities has been quietly moving migrants around under our noses the whole time. It is one giant funding pipeline keeping these woke churches afloat.”
“Stop attending and stop funding churches that push woke activism. Our children and our society deserve better. The woke churches have to go!” the post reads.
Meanwhile, a confrontation occurred Wednesday, Dec. 17 in Evanston when Mayor Daniel Biss, a “progressive” Democrat and candidate for the 9th Congressional District, confronted Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino during a Title 8 immigration enforcement operation.
Video showed Biss accusing federal agents of abuse, racism, and violence, while Bovino defended the operation, saying agents were in the community to enhance safety and calling the day “excellent in Evanston.”
The standoff involved an 11-vehicle Border Patrol convoy, protesters attempting to block the street while Evanston and Chicago police managed crowd control.
Such protests have turned into violent riots during the Operation Midway Blitz.
Earlier this year, anti-ICE demonstrations at the Broadview ICE facility saw rioters assault agents, slash tires and chant threats. In one October incident, federal vehicles were rammed and boxed in by multiple cars, prompting agents to fire defensively and shoot an armed U.S. citizen.
Local police have at times refused assistance, forcing DHS to deploy special units.
“The mayor of Evanston, as well as other alders, are encouraging this kind of guerrilla warfare, these tactics to do neighborhood policing,” Lauren Vogler, a former leftist protester who now engages in counter-protesting, previously told Chicago City Wire. “There’s already cartels that have put bounty hits on ICE officials and ICE leadership,”
Gov. JB Pritzker has also accused ICE of racial harassment, while critics argue state sanctuary policies undermine deportation enforcement, even when illegal immigrants have credible links to serious crimes.
Foley framed opposition to the scene within a broader law-and-order perspective.
“The unfortunate thing is, there are so many people who have lost their common sense,’ he said. “ICE is enforcing the law. It’s really that simple. If you don’t like the law, have your congressman or congresswoman work to change it, but they’re doing what the law is. We passed laws for a reason. To protest this is just an affront to the community.”
Mary is shown wearing a gas mask in Lake Street Church’s anti-ICE Nativity scene in Evanston, part of a controversial display reimagining the Holy Family amid modern immigration enforcement. (Facebook / Doug Ibendahl)
