TAKE ACTION
You are the change-maker
we’re looking for.
CSPL believes in the power of grassroots organizing, and our successes prove that it works. Our campaigns rely on many individuals united behind a shared vision. Learn more about each of our campaigns and how you can help us advance them:
Advocating for the dignity of immigrants
We are the body of Christ
When “Operation Midway Blitz” first hit our streets, we immediately developed a plan to respond. Since then, thousands of priests, sisters, and lay people have taken part in our public, non-violent, spirit-led actions, including People’s Masses and a Eucharistic Procession.
Our building momentum is bringing visibility to our sisters and brothers being brutally kidnapped, detained, and deported.
We are raising our voices to call upon our nation to treat all people with their inherent dignity.
Addressing systemic threats to our health
Every person deserves clean, lead-free water.
CSPL members are leading a bold, community-rooted campaign to replace toxic lead pipes in our neighborhoods, confronting a systemic health threat that has harmed families—especially low-income, Black, and Brown households—for generations. Grounded in the sacred belief that every person deserves to live in a safe and healthy home, we will organize residents, partner with parishes, and push elected leaders to fully fund and expedite lead service line replacement. Together, we are striving to make clean water a protected right for every family in every neighborhood.
Pastoral Care and Communion Campaign
Always led by our immigrant members, CSPL has worked to address systemic oppression perpetuated by US immigration policy since our founding in 2017. This year, we’ve ramped up our work to respond to the increasingly harmful immigration enforcement operations impacting every neighborhood where our members live and work.
This work focuses on:
Building racial solidarity between immigrant communities and other communities of color.
Directly confronting the perpetrators of unjust operations with spiritually-rooted, nonviolent direct actions at the bases of immigration operations (ICE Headquarters, Broadview Detention Center, Great Lakes Naval Station).
Supporting the work of parishes to protect their parishioners and respond to ICE raids, and providing resources to help them hold their own solidarity-driven actions and events.
Strategically pursuing local and national visibility to elevate the moral authority of the grassroots church by proclaiming the dignity and rights of all people.
Timeline of Current Campaign
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![A young man with a cross of ashes on his forehead is interviewed by the media]()
March 5, 2025 | Ash Wednesday Action at ICE Headquarters
CSPL members gather for a press conference and nonviolent action at the downtown Chicago ICE Headquarters. We pray, sing, and distribute Ashes in the Christian tradition. We deliver a letter to NAME asking ASK.
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Sept. 8, 2025 | DHS / ICE announce launch of “Operation Midway Blitz.”
DHS/ICE publicly announce an escalated enforcement operation in the Chicago area, marking the start of what federal officials called a concentrated enforcement effort.
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![Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez poses holding his two young children]()
Sept. 12, 2025 | ICE kills Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez in Franklin Park
ICE claims Silverio severely injured an agent when he attempted to drive away, which is clearly contradicted by video evidence. Silverio had no criminal background.
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Sept. 13, 2025 | CSPL hosts a People’s Mass for Justice + Peace at the Great Lakes Naval Station
200 people attended this misa popular outside the Great Lakes Naval Station, the base of operations for ICE/DHS and the threatened National Guard deployment. This Mass became the first major public action anchoring CSPL’s response to the operations.
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Sept. 20, 2025 | Interfaith Prayer March to the Great Lakes Naval Base
CSPL joined organizations of 7 faiths for a prayerful march at the Naval base, attended by more than 300 people, united around the shared morals that call us to nonviolently act to demand justice and respect for our immigrant sisters and brothers.
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![Hundreds seated in pews for the memorial Mass for Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, most wearing yellow CSPL tshirts]()
Sept. 24, 2025 | Mass & Procession honoring Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez
Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Melrose Park, supported by CSPL, held a Mass and outdoor Eucharistic procession demanding an investigation into Silverio’s death, justice for him and his family, and greater protections for immigrant families.
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![Hundreds of people stand behind a large banner that reads "God Stands with the Oppressed" in both English and Spanish. Photo credit: Paul Goyette]()
Oct. 11, 2025 | Eucharistic Procession to Broadview Detention Center
At least 1,000 people processed from St. Eulalia Church to Broadview, where clergy attempted to bring Communion to the people detained inside, but were denied. This event drew extensive media coverage and national Catholic attention. Photo credit: Paul Goyette
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Nov. 1, 2025 | Dia de los Muertos People’s Mass at Broadview Detention Center
At this outdoor misa popular, attended by 2,000+ people, DHS again refused CSPL’s delegation of religious sisters and clergy, led by Chicago Bishop Maldonado and Sr. JoAnn Persch, entry to bring pastoral care to those detained.
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Nov. 5, 2025 | Pope Leo responds to Question about Events at Broadview
When asked by a reporter about CSPL being denied access at Broadview, Pope Leo said he would “ invite the authorities to allow pastoral workers to attend to the needs of those people.”
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![A group of people of various ages and races hold hands during a Mass at the Broadview ICE Detention Center]()
Nov. 19, 2025 | CSPL Files Federal Lawsuit over Blocked Access
The lawsuit argues that preventing clergy and women religious from providing pastoral care violates the First Amendment, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).
we need you
TAKE ACTION
In just a few months, our movement has grown from a several hundred to thousands of people of faith who live solidarity in action. Are you ready to join them? Here’s how you can build power with us!
find the best fit to Get involved:
Ready to get involved?
Fill out this form to let our team know, and one of us will let you know how you can join the leaders advancing the Lead Pipes Campaign
Lead Pipes Campaign
By listening closely to our members, CSPL ensures that our actions respond directly to real community needs and concerns. This campaign reflects the ongoing commitment of our members to confront systemic injustice, translating their insights into organized action, advocacy, and sustained pressure on leaders to replace the pipes that have been poisoning our communities for over 100 years—nearly 40 years past the federal ban on lead pipes in 1986.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Discover the Big Picture
Campaign Organizing is just one way we work to build the Kin-dom of God. Our Four Pillars strengthen our leaders, grow our membership base, and drive our mission forward. Which Pillar do you most resonate with?
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