Dallas church sparks debate with caged immigrant nativity scene display

A church in Texas is sparking debate after erecting a nativity scene that depicts Mary, Joseph and Jesus as modern-day immigrants locked in a metal cage wrapped in barbed wire.

Oak Lawn United Methodist Church in Dallas set up the display on its front steps, which are painted in rainbow colors.

The display features silhouettes of the Holy Family standing behind a chain-link fence, with signs reading “Holy is the refugee” and “Holy are the profiled and patrolled.”

Inside the church, a second installation features empty chairs, protest-style signs and a manger beneath a wooden board painted with “ICE WAS HERE.” Additional signs inside ask, “Where is Mary?”, “Where is Joseph?”, and “Where is Jesus?”

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The church announced the launch of the display on Dec. 8, insisting it was sending a provocative and moral message to the community.

“Our nativity isn’t a photo-op. It’s a prayer in the shape of a family,” the church wrote on Facebook.

“This year, we set the Holy Family inside the kind of space too many folks sleep in right now — tarps, fencing, harsh wire. Not for shock, but for truth.”

The church framed the scene as an ethical message about migrants and the unhoused. Church leaders said the display is meant to push congregants to reflect on who is being left out this Christmas season.

“If love came into the world through a family with no room to stay, then every unhoused neighbor matters. Every migrant matters. Every family seeking safety matters,” the post reads.

Passers-by were receptive to the depiction and its messaging. 

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“I think it is a really good commentary on the political issues at hand right now at the border and immigrants being arrested without due process,” said Sean Garman, who lives nearby.

“I think it is a modern interpretation of what the gospel says. Jesus was an immigrant and a migrant,” added Sarah Perkins, who also lives in the area.

Associate Pastor Isabel Marquez said the message behind the nativity was intentional.

“This topic is sending a message to everyone,” Marquez told Fox 4 Dallas. “It is a way to say what is a reality happening here for many people.”

“We are called to be able to walk the journey together as human beings. It’s not saying do more or do less, just treat others as you want to be treated,” Marquez said.

It’s not the first time the church has weighed in on political and social issues.

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In October, the church painted its steps in the rainbow colors in an act of solidarity with the LGBTQ community after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered all rainbow-decorated crosswalks across the state to be removed within 30 days or risk losing essential funding from the state’s transportation department, per the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), a left wing media monitoring organization

In 2022, the church defied a bishop and appointed two openly gay pastors, according to Fox 4 Dallas.