Prayers in Solidarity with Migrants
- Faith Action
- Aug 28
- 6 min read
In the early evening of August 14, 2025, around 100 of us gathered along Ala Moana Boulevard outside Waterfront Plaza across the street from the US Immigration & Customs Enforcement building. Leaders from various faiths were present alongside community members from a number of grassroot organizations.

We held an Interfaith Vigil in Solidarity with Migrants for the purposes of:
Publicly standing against unjust ICE raids, family separation, and disappearances;
Uplifting the struggles and humanity of people affected by unjust immigration policies;
Uniting people in solidarity with migrants (immigrants, migrants, refugees, COFA citizens, students—vulnerable populations targeted by ICE);
Providing a space to grieve, to express and transform sacred anger;
Offering hope and support, to draw courage and strength from our faiths;
Reminding people of faith about their duty to act.
Below are some of the prayers that were shared. We hope this might be a growing resource of words to sustain us in this work. You are welcome to use these prayers in your settings as we draw on our faiths to give us courage and clarity to oppose the unjust actions by ICE and the administration that leave migrant communities vulnerable.
Praying for our Legislators, Leaders with Power
Rev. Kate Hogue, Christ Church Uniting Presbyterians and Disciples
Holy One,
We pray for our legislators here in Hawai’i and also across the nation; that they may be moved to stand up to injustice and use the power they have to care for the vulnerable among us, and especially migrant peoples. That they would not give in to despair and hopelessness, feeling as if this were all inevitable, but would have strength, and fortitude.
We pray that legislators would draw inspiration from their faith, their spirituality, their moral convictions, whatever conscience that helps guide their decisions.
To remember what Hebrew Scripture says about treating the foreign-born as a native citizen... Remembering what Jesus said, about caring for neighbor, friend, and even enemy. Jesus, who was himself a refugee...
We pray that the Quran would speak to them about justice, kindness, and respect for strangers and foreign-born...
Or Baha’u’llah’s teachings might stir in their hearts conviction about the oneness of humanity and treating immigrants and refugees with respect...
That they might never forget that migrant peoples were called to the shores of the United States: “The tired, poor, huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”...
That we are a nation of migrants, here, on stolen land.
And we pray that our legislators would write laws that not only protect white-skinned, heterosexual, European, citizens, but all those who have come to call the United States home.
We ask that they might remember overstaying a visa is not a criminal offense, but a civil one.
We pray that birthright citizenship would not be taken away, and that courts would continue blocking this attack on the 14th Amendment.
That there would be protections for the inalienable rights that belong to all human beings, not just citizens, as spelled out in the Declaration of Independence.
Most of all, we pray that our legislators would find their moral courage and conviction to speak out, even though they are afraid. To act with compassion and kindness and to be an example for their colleagues and use the power and influence they have to represent the interests of all people.
We pray that they might look into the eyes of migrant peoples and see something sacred; God, the Holy One, their Common Humanity, and be so moved that they cannot help but protect and vote for the interests of migrant peoples.
Amen.
Prayer for those who work to support migrants
Rev. David Huber, ordained clergy in the United Church of Christ, shares, "The way we treat migrants is one of the most significant indicators of our morality, and we as a nation are doing very poorly. I like to be a public witness for a brand of Christianity that does not fear, demean, or dehumanize others. There really are churches and Christians in this country who are on the side of the poor and the oppressed."
(David recently moved to O‘ahu from Wisconsin for a role as interim minister at a local church, and talked about the Wisconsin Conference UCC repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery and that Wisconsin has started doing land acknowledgments and trying to heal wounds with the first nation peoples, and also that in the city of Eau Claire, where I have just come from, we have a large Hmong population - people who helped the US during the Vietnam War and were offered refuge in the US - and how scared that community became as soon as Trump's anti-immigrant policies came into being. Then I went back on script:
"In the United Church of Christ, we just had our national gathering that we do every two years, and one of our resolutions includes this:
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Thirty-Fifth General Synod of the United Church of Christ calls upon all settings of the Church to oppose the 2025 Trump Administration’s immigration policies and condemn and reject ANY policies or actions that deny sanctuary, access to services, or human dignity to migrants, immigrants, refugees, and BIPOC individuals.
And another line a little later mentioning also support of Micronesia and speaking out against how the Compacts of Free Association are being violated. We have Micronesian youth in our churches who could lose their parents. What the hell? This is an abomination, and more of the antichrist than of Jesus.
It's impossible to be illegal on stolen land."
Holy One, God of all people, with a special preference
for the poor and the migrants,
for your own family were refugees once,
we lift up in prayer all of your people
who struggle to change our bad migration policies,
and all those who work with the people
those policies have hurt and are hurting;
we pray for the lawyers, the justice workers, the fundraisers,
the chaplains, the prophets, the government workers,
who are helping to ensure that migrants are treated fairly,
who ensure that migrants know their rights
and ensure the government protects those rights;
the supporters who do this work even
at the risk of their own safety
as they face backlash from neighbors, or employers,
or even our own government.
Protect them and their families, watch over them,
as they work to protect those who have little power;
Protect and strengthen all who have joined the struggle
on behalf of the least of these,
for by helping them, they are helping you.
And may their dedication to justice and to what is right
inspire us all to similar selfless acts of courage and love
on behalf of our neighbors. Amen.
Prayer for ICE Agents
Kristen Young, Faith Action Board Secretary
Loving God, it is because of your love, your justice, your solidarity with the oppressed that we stand in opposition to ICE and its actions, and against our government’s inhumane policies.
We pray for ICE agents who are tasked with enforcing laws and hitting quotas under the guise of protection and safety. May they realize the difference between legality and morality and choose to do what is right.
Give them empathy. When they do their jobs to put food on the table and a roof over their families’ heads, may they remember that migrants have crossed borders for the same, often to escape their places of birth and familiarity that have been destabilized by the US empire.
Give them courage to refuse to follow unjust orders, to resist, to step away from an organization that also strips them of their humanity, severs their connection to their community.
If they must follow orders, may they be gentle, kind, and merciful as can be.
Do not let them not be content in their jobs. God, we are all trying to survive the throws of capitalism. But it’s no excuse to sell out our neighbors. Help us to create a society and economy where we don’t have to exploit and work against each other to thrive.
Help them to remember their humanity, our shared humanity. May your spirit be upon them. Open their eyes and ears to suffering, open their hearts, and stir in them the desire to not want any part in carrying out injustice.
Even while agents of ICE strip others of humanity, may we never fail to see theirs, to hold onto hope of repentance and transformation.
Amen.
… “Our Lord, grant us of good in this world" …
Imam Maseeh Ganjali's sharing came from his meditation on this phrase from a famous prayer, and the fact that we are instructed that if we don’t want for others what we want for ourselves, then we have not reached true faith.
If you have words (a prayer, poem, story) to contribute to this compilation, please share with us! Email board@hifaithaction.org.
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