Chuck DarwinJan 24

“I don’t think Jesus would ever ignore people being hurt,
-- especially by the federal government,”
said 17-year Ben Luhmann at the wheel, to a reporter in the back seat.

Sam, his 16-year old brother was pounding an energy drink with one hand,
scrolled through a lengthy list of group chats with the other,
scouring for reports of ICE and other federal immigration agents in their area.

Mornings like this have been typical in recent weeks for the Luhmann family,
which has drawn on its conservative Christian faith and a shared compulsion to counter
“Operation Midway Blitz,”
the mass deportation push in Chicago launched in September.

They have joined a coalition of activists,
everyday citizens and people of faith
— including theologically conservative Christians
— who have pooled resources and learned new technologies
to mount an effort they say is designed to
protect immigrants in their neighborhoods and around the city.

⭐️‘Christians should be the first people to fight for this.’
Of all the #Luhmanns, Ben and Sam have had the most direct encounters with federal agents
— mostly on purpose.

They’re part of a complex network of “#rapid #response” volunteers who monitor the movement and actions of federal agents,
with everyday residents crisscrossing the Chicago suburbs daily
to keep an eye on unmarked cars typically used by ICE when making arrests.

The idea, Ben said, is to document what federal agents
— who often represent a range of agencies, but which activists generally refer to collectively as ICE
— are doing and to alert the community.

If they come across an ICE vehicle,
especially one conducting an arrest,
the brothers film what they can,
sometimes ask questions of the officers
and then blow whistles to alert people nearby about the presence of ICE.

The duo rolled through a series of neighborhood “hot spots” where arrests have happened in recent weeks.

It was quieter than normal, they said, likely because U.S. Border Patrol had announced plans that week to pull out of the city
and relocate many of its personnel to Charlotte, North Carolina.

Several weeks ago, they said, they could have heard about or come across more than a dozen ICE arrests by midmorning.

But federal agents are still active in the city and, per reports, isn’t planning on leaving anytime soon.

https://religionnews.com/2025/11/25/how-one-conservative-christian-family-is-pushing-back-against-ice/

How one conservative Christian family is pushing back against ICE

A coalition of activists, everyday citizens and people of faith — including theologically conservative Christians — who have pooled resources and learned new technologies to mount an effort they say is designed to protect immigrants in their neighborhoods and around Chicago.

RNS
Show threadChuck Darwin

Ben and Sam's mother,
#Audrey #Luhmann isn’t new to advocacy.

For years, she has been a key leader in the “ACNAtoo” movement,
an effort to combat sex abuse in her small, theologically conservative denomination.

She insists the same faith that drove her to organize against sex abuse now compels her to aid immigrants.

“In this moment, we have the moral truth and the moral grounding that is needed,
and it totally equips Christians and people of other faiths to be able to stand up and call evil by its right name,” Audrey said.

Audrey has also joined several other Signal groups dedicated to helping immigrants,
including one called “6,000 moms.”

Her phone pings constantly.

Asked about the noise, she held up her phone to show the latest message:
-- A mom asking simply,
“How can I help?”

All told, she fields 1,200 to 1,300 messages a day,
she estimated.

Her sons, she said,
get far more.
“They’re getting over three thousand.”

When Audrey arrived at the medical center, Denisse was standing alone outside.

The two greeted each other warmly, embracing before Denisse climbed into the van.

The two chatted about the chemo treatments before quickly changing subjects to discuss child-rearing and favorite foods.

The vibe is cheery, although Denisse’s tone briefly dimmed when she was asked about her situation.

“I think we’re suffering too much,” she said, speaking in Spanish.

“I don’t know where I’m getting the strength to keep going.
But thank God, I’ve done it,
and I’ll keep doing it.”

She then added: “con el favor de Dios”
— or “God willing.”

⭐️‘Where were you in 2025?’

The volunteer work has weighed heavily on the Luhmann family, Audrey said.

She worries about the relationship between her teenage sons and law enforcement,
-- especially after repeatedly bearing witness to dramatic arrests of immigrants and protesters.

“There have been times where my sons have been in tears,” she said.

“I’m having to process in real time with my teenage kids the fact that they are watching absolute lawlessness and brutality and violence and
cruelty
and no one’s coming to stop it.”

It’s been hard on Audrey, too.

She recalled a moment when another one of her children,
a 13-year-old,
jumped in the car with Sam and Ben to investigate potential ICE activity
at a nearby apartment complex,
knowing that kids who live there also attend the 13-year-old’s school.

“This advocacy as a family has been intense,” Audrey said.

“But I also feel like, someday, my kids are going to grow up and they’re going to have children.

And at some point they’re going to say,
‘Grandma, where were you in 2025?

Where were my parents in 2025?’

I want to be able to tell them:
‘My family stood up.’”

For Audrey and most of the Luhmann family,
the Christian faith doesn’t give them any other choice.

“What would Jesus do if he were seeing and witnessing an arrest?” she said.

“What would he do if it were his neighbor taken?”

#Luhmanns #rapidresponse

https://religionnews.com/2025/11/25/how-one-conservative-christian-family-is-pushing-back-against-ice/

How one conservative Christian family is pushing back against ICE

A coalition of activists, everyday citizens and people of faith — including theologically conservative Christians — who have pooled resources and learned new technologies to mount an effort they say is designed to protect immigrants in their neighborhoods and around Chicago.

RNS
Jan 24 at 5:03pmWeb