An Indianapolis church locked up Mary, Joseph, and Jesus behind a fence Tuesday as part of its Every Family is Holy campaign, The Indy Channel has reported.
The Rev. Stephen Carlsen, dean of the Episcopal Christ Church Cathedral, said the aim of the campaign is to condemn the Trump administration’s "zero-tolerance" immigration policy.
"They were a homeless family with nowhere to stay," Carlson said. "I think our faith tells us where we need to be. The fact that it's controversial isn't because I want to be controversial. What's controversial is that we're turning away from the values that should be guiding us. The point of a religious icon is to move our hearts. If at first, people are upset by it, that might just be God trying to move their hearts. I hope their hearts soften."
When asked how long the church would keep up the protest, Carlson said, "How long are we going to keep detaining families indefinitely?"
The protest comes about two weeks after Trump signed an executive order that halted his administration's policy of separating families at the border, but many of the children already separated before the order was signed have still not been reunited with their families, according to The Hill.
In addition, attention has been focused on the conditions at the detention facilities were the undocumented immigrants are being held after illegally crossing the border.
Last week U.S. District Court Judge Dana Sabraw ruled that the Trump administration must reunify all children under the age of five with their undocumented migrant parents within two weeks, and all minor children age five and older within 30 days.
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