DC Area Faith Leaders Statement on Immigration Enforcement Actions

The recent events in Minnesota — including the fatal shootings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents — have reverberated deeply across the nation and within our communities, shaking us to our core. This moment calls us to speak from the heart of our moral and spiritual values, reaffirming the sanctity of life and our shared commitment to justice and compassion.

In response to these events, spiritual leaders and faith organizations from across the Greater Washington area have signed on to the following statement denouncing acts of state-sanctioned violence and affirming the dignity of human life and the pursuit of justice.

“The murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti—two U.S. citizens devoted to civic engagement and to caring for their immigrant neighbors—have left communities in Minneapolis and across the nation grieving, shaken, and rightly outraged. Their deaths are a profound moral failure, and they demand our collective attention and response.

“As faith leaders in the greater Washington, D.C. region, we affirm the sacred worth of every human life. That commitment includes—and compels us to stand with—immigrants and others who are especially vulnerable in this moment. We condemn without reservation the use of indiscriminate and lethal force against civilians. The actions we have witnessed in recent days represent a grave departure from our nation’s deepest moral commitments and from the values of human dignity, restraint, and accountability that our faith traditions uphold. When the power of the state is exercised without regard for life, justice, or the common good, the foundations of democracy itself are put at risk. We speak out now from a place of deep love for our nation and a growing concern that our own local communities will potentially experience the same loss of life and turmoil we are seeing in Minneapolis.

“Renee and Alex were killed while seeking justice for their community. We honor their lives by refusing to look away and by calling, together, for accountability from those entrusted with authority. At this pivotal moment in our nation’s life, we are faced with a choice: whether to allow fear, cruelty, and disorder to define us, or to respond with courage, conscience, and moral resolve. We stand with our neighbors, fellow clergy, and state and local leaders who have called on national authorities to end practices that place people in harm’s way.

“Throughout history, people of faith have been called to speak when human dignity is threatened. We believe that call is before us now. Communities in the greater Washington region have already experienced the fear and disruption caused by aggressive enforcement tactics, including incidents near schools and houses of worship—places that should remain sanctuaries, not sites of intimidation. We will not accept the tearing apart of our neighborhoods or the normalization of dehumanization. We urge government officials at every level to recommit themselves to policies that uphold life, dignity, and the rule of law. And we call on all people of conscience to work together for a society in which every person can walk their streets without fear, and with the knowledge that they are seen, valued, and protected.”

Robert Cardinal McElroy, Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington
The Rt. Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington
Rabbi Abbi Sharofsky, Director of Intergroup Relations & Rabbi-in-Residence, JCRC of Greater Washington
Behram Panthaki, Head Priest, The Zoroastrian Association of Metropolitan Washington Inc (ZAMWI)
Romi Sawhney, Executive Director, Guru Gobind Singh Foundation (GGSF)
Bishop LaTrelle Miller Easterling, Resident Bishop The Baltimore-Washington and Peninsula Delaware Area, The United Methodist Church
Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt, President of the Unitarian Universalist Association
Dr. Sousan Abadian, Executive Director, Interfaith Council of Metropolitan Washington

---

List of Signatures in Formation

• The Rev. Dr. Philip C. Hirsch, Bishop. Metropolitan Washington, DC Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
• Rev. William E. Green, Senior Pastor, Silver Spring United Methodist Church
  
• The Rev. Anne E. Derse, Deacon in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington
  
• Rabbi Charles Arian, Gaithersburg MD
  
• Rabbi Richard Marker
  
• Rabbi Binyamin Biber – Humanists Helping Refugees – Silver Spring MD
  
• Rev. Martha Daniels, Silver Spring United Methodist Church
  
• Rabbi Marc Israel, Tikvat Israel Congregation
  
• Rabbi Marc Gruber
  
• The Reverend Douglas E. Fox, Liberty Grove United Methodist Church
  
• Rev. Kenneth B. Hawes, Fairhaven United Methodist Church, Gaithersburg, MD
  
• Rabbah Arlene Berger
  
• Benjamin Suarato, Jewish Council for Public Affairs
  
• Rabbi Dr. Rebecca Joseph
  
• Rev. Dr. Leslie A. Klingensmith, Pastor, St. Matthew Presbyterian Church
  
• Rev. Jocelyn C. Cadwallader, Pastor of the Warner Memorial Presbyterian Church (USA)
  
• Rabbi Hannah Spiro (Hill Havurah, DC)
  
• Rev. David A. Miller, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax
  
• David Stoddard, Senior Warden, Transfiguration Episcopal Church
  
• Rev. Abhi Janamanchi, Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Congregation
  
• Rev. Mark Harper, Takoma Park Presbyterian Church (PCUSA)
  
• Rabbi Neil Tow, Congregation Sha’are Shalom, Leesburg, VA
  
• Rabbi Amy Schwartzman, Temple Rodef Shalom
  
• Reverend Mary Rodgers, Providence Presbyterian Church
  
• Rabbi Batya Glazer
  
• Rev. T.C. Morrow, Extended Clergy Team, Foundry United Methodist Church, Washington, DC
  
• Rev. Michael Vanacore, Senior Pastor, Pilgrim United Church of Christ
  
• Rabbi Jeffrey Saxe, Temple Rodef Shalom, Falls Church, VA
  
• Rev. LeAnn Hodges, Gaithersburg Presbyterian Church
  
• Rabbi Jonah Layman – Shaare Tefila Congregation
  
• Rabbi Stephanie Bernstein
  
• Rabbi Jill Levy, Ramah Day Camp Greater DC
  
• The Rev. Melissa Fauci, Church of the Holy Comforter (Episcopal)
  
• Rabbi Hannah Goldstein, Temple Sinai
  
• Rev. Dr. Trish Hall, Centers for Spiritual Living
  
• Rabbi Rain Zohav
  
• The Rev. Yoimel Gonzalez Hernandez, St. Stephen and the Incarnation Episcopal Church
  
• Rabbi Sarah Bassin, Rabbi in Residence, HIAS
  
• Rev. Ginger E. Gaines-Cirelli, Senior Pastor, Foundry United Methodist Church, Washington, D.C.
  
• Rabbi Aaron Alexander, Adas Israel Congregation
  
• Rabbi Lauren Holtzblatt, Adas Israel Congregation
  
• Rev. Dr. Laura Norvell, Faith United Methodist Church – Rockville
  
• Rabbi Adam Rosenwasser, Temple Emanuel
  
• Rabbi Melanie Aron
  
• Rabbi Michael G. Holzman, Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation (NVHC)
  
• Rabbi Alexandra Stein, Temple Rodef Shalom
  
• Rabbi Sid Schwarz, Founding Rabbi, Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation
  
• Rev. Cynthia Lapp, Hyattsville Mennonite Church
  
• The Rev. Sari Ateek, St. John’s Episcopal Church
  
• Catherine Stratton Treadway, Clerk, Sandy Spring Friends Meeting (Quakers)
  
• The Rev. Lesley Krauland, Deacon, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, College Park, MD
  
• Rev. David Gray, Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church
  
• The Rev. Emily Guthrie, Christ Episcopal Church, Kensington
  
• Emory Grove United Methodist Church
  
• Rev. Sandy Kessinger
  
• Rabbi Eric L. Abbott, Bethesda Jewish Congregation
  
• Rev. Joshua Henry Narcisse, Senior Pastor, Gaithersburg Presbyterian Church
  
• Rabbi Ariel Tovlev, Kehila Chadasha, Silver Spring, MD
  
• Rabbi Deborah Reichmann, IFFP
  
• Rabbi Greg Harris, Congregation Beth El
  
• The Rev. Catherine Manhardt, Associate Rector, St. James Episcopal Church, Potomac
  
• Metropolitan AME Church
  
• The Rev. Jessica K Hitchcock, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Bethesda, MD
  
• Rabbi Jeremy Kridel
  
• Rabbi Michael Safra, B’nai Israel Congregation, Rockville, Maryland 
  
• Rabbi Aderet Drucker, the Den Collective
  
• Rev. Laura Batten-Carbaugh, Pastor, Colesville Presbyterian Church
  
• Christine King, New Neighbor Interfaith Alliance
  
• The Rev. Mark Michael, Rector, S Francis Episcopal Church, Potomac, MD. 
  
• Cantor Ze’evi Tovlev, Temple Shalom, Chevy Chase, MD
  
• Rev. Dr. Kate Epperly, Westmoreland Congregational UCC
  
• Rabbi Scott Perlo, Adat Shalom Synagogue
  
• Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad, President, Maqaame Ibrahim Islamic Center
  
• Rev. Dr. Christopher Wilkins, St. Mark’s Episcopal Anglican Church, Fairland / Silver Spring, MD
  
• Rabbi Gary Pokras, Temple Beth Ami
  
• Rabbi Baht Yameem Weiss, Temple Beth Ami
  
• Cantor Inbal Sharett-Singer, Temple Beth Ami
  
• Rabbi Alison Kobey, Congregation Or Chadash
  
• Rabbi Jake Singer-Beilin, Bet Mishpachah
  
• Fabrangen Havurah
  
• James Smith, President, Empathy Forward
  
• Rabbi Alana Suskin
  
• Rev. Michelle Burkholder, Associate Pastor, Hyattsville Mennonite Church
  
• Cantor Jason Kaufman 
  
• Rabbi Amelia Wolf, Congregation Etz Hayim
  
• Rabbi Steven Rein
  
• Rev. Dr. LaKeisha Cook, Executive Director, Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy
  
• Rev. Dr. Brian Lee, New Covenant Fellowship Church, Germantown, MD
  
• Cantor Susan Caro, Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation
  
• Rev. Denise Diaab, Associate Pastor Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church
  
• Rabbi Jack A. Luxemburg, Emeritus, Temple Beth Ami
  
• Rabbi Jennifer Weiner
  
• Rabbi Emerita Rosalind Gold, Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation
  
• Rabbi Donald Berlin
  
• Rabbi David Widzer
  
• Rabbi Fred N. Reiner, Rabbi Emeritus, Temple Sinai, Washington, DC
  
• Rabbi Ashley Barrett, Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation
  
• Rabbi Robert Levy, Washington, DC
  
• Rabbi George Billinson, Congregation Adat Reyim
  
• Rev. Dr. Jay Moses, Saint Mark Presbyterian Church, PCUSA
  
• Dumbarton United Methodist Church, Washington, DC
  
• Rabbi Emeritus Jonathan Schnitzer, B’nai Israel Congregation
  
• Baltimore-Washington Conference of The United Methodist Church 
  
• Episcopal Church of the Ascension 
  
• Islamic Society of the Washington Area
  
• St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Waldorf, MD
  
• Rev. Dr. Christopher Zacharias, Pastor, John Wesley AME Zion Church
  
• St. Nicholas Church, Germantown, MD, Episcopal Diocese of Washington
  
• Maryland Buddhist Vihara
  
• The Rev. Henry McQueen, St. John’s Episcopal Church Olney MD
  
• Daniel G Zemel, Rabbi Emeritus, Temple Micah
  
• The Rev. Shivaun Wilkinson, Associate Rector St. John’s Episcopal Church, Chaplain St John’s Episcopal School
  
• Pastor Christopher Weidner, Metro DC Synod ELCA
  
• P. Morse, Northminster Presbyterian Church
  
• Rabbi Mitchell Berkowitz, B’nai Israel Congregation
  
• Haneefiya America
  
• Amy Benedict, St. Nicholas Episcopal Church, Germantown MD
  
• Rabbi Gerald Serotta
  
• Rabbi Bruce E. Kahn
  
• Hazzan Asa Fradkin, Congregation Beth El
  
• St. John’s, Lafayette Square
  
• Rabbi Aaron Potek, Sixth & I
  
• St. Rose of Lima Catholic Parish
  
• Rabbi Evan Krame, The Jewish Studio
  
• Rabbi Jonathan Miller
  
• Zionist Rabbinic Coalition
  
• Cantor Rachel Rhodes, Temple Sinai DC
  
• The Venerable Steve Seely, Archdeacon, Episcopal Diocese of Washington
  
• ISKCON of DC
  
• The Rev. Susan Fritz, Deacon, Episcopal Diocese of Washington
  
• The Ven. L. Sue von Rautenkranz, Archdeacon Emeritus, Episcopal Diocese of Washington
  
• Rabbi Adam Raskin, Har Shalom, Potomac, MD
  
• The Rev. Donna Stinchcomb, St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, Laurel MD
  
• Rev. Elizabeth Dixon Deacon St. Barnabas Leeland
  
• Thomas Sinclair, Chief Operating Officer, Episcopal Diocese of Washington
  
• Religious of Jesus and Mary, USA-Haiti Province
  
• Cantor Max Silverstone, Congregation Har Shalom – Potomac, MD
  
• Rev. Mary Sebold, Washington, DC
  
• The Rev. Dr. Harvey E. Bale, Jr, Deacon, the Episcopal Diocese of Washington
  
• Reverend Linda Mahler, Deacon, Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, Silver Spring, MD
  
• Rev. Dr. Katherine E. Brown
  
• Cantor Rochelle Helzner, Tikvat Israel Congregation
  
• The Rev. Susan K. Walker, Deacon, St. Thomas, Washington D.C.
  
• The Very Rev. Randolph M. Hollerith, Dean, Washington National Cathedral
  
• Hill Havurah
  
• Congregation Beth Emeth
  
• Fr. Stephen Carter, Pastor of Christ the King Catholic Church
  
• Rabbi Rachel Hersh JSSA
  
• Rev. Dr. Paul W. Johnson, Goshen United Methodist Church
  
• Rabbi David Shneyer, Am Kolel
  
• Deacon Mary Alcuin Kelly, St. Stephen and The Incarnation, Episcopal Diocese of Washington
  
• Rev. Bill Haley, Coracle
  
• Amata Meditation Center
  
• Reverend Nancy Stockbridge, Deacon St. John’s Olney, MD
  
• Rev. Holly Jackson, Associate Conference Minister of the Central Atlantic Conference of the United Church of Christ
  
• The Rev. Julie Petersmeyer, Deacon, Episcopal Diocese of Washington
  
• Rev. Dr. Rebekah A. Savage, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Rockville
  
• Rev. Mykal Slack, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Rockville
  
• Raj Khalsa Gurdwara
  
• SS Mata Mandir Kaur Khalsa, Sikh Dharma International
  
• Bethesda Friends Meeting, Bethesda, Maryland
  
• Reverend Kenneth Nelson
  
• Pastor Stephen Erich, Takoma Park Seventh-day Adventist Church
  
• Rev. Dr. David Milam, Honorably Retired, National Capital Presbytery
  
• Rev. Blake A. Collins, National Capital Presbytery (PCUSA)
  
• Rabbi Susan N. Shankman, Washington Hebrew Congregation
  
• Rabbi Eliana Fischel, Washington Hebrew Congregation
  
• Rabbi Rachel Schmelkin, Washington Hebrew Congregation
  
• Reverend Dr. Gerard Green, Pleasant View Historical Association
  
• Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad, Maqaame Ibrahim Islamic Center
  
• Ahmadiyya Muslim Community