DHS, probing anti-ICE activists, spied on at least five Midwest churches, court records indicate

(RNS) — About halfway through the service at First Universalist Church of Minneapolis on Sunday, Aug. 16, the Rev. Jen Crow delivered the news: Recent court filings, she said, revealed that U.S. ΩDepartment of Homeland Security agents had spied on churches, including First Universalist, as part of a broader investigation into activists opposing the work of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“We know what the work of the church is,” Crow said , referring to the church’s efforts to push back against President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign. She spoke from a pulpit positioned next to a flickering open flame burning in a chalice, a symbol of Unitarian Universalism.

“Our spiritual practice grounds us in that work,” the pastor said, adding, “Amen.”

In response, the congregation burst into applause.

It was a defiant moment, capping more than a year of rising tensions between federal immigration officials and religious communities in the Twin Cities. Since January, when thousands of federal agents arrived in the area as part of a targeted mass deportation campaign known as “Operation Metro Surge,” faith-led groups have joined others in resisting the government’s…