Episcopalians Fold 5,000 Origami Cranes to Protest ICE Detention Conditions

Episcopalians from across the United States and France have folded and donated more than 5,000 origami cranes to the Diocese of Olympia, Washington, in a powerful act of solidarity with migrants held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers. The cranes were displayed at a shrine outside the Tacoma ICE detention facility where 70 Episcopal clergy and lay leaders gathered in prayer during the Asiamerica Ministries’ annual retreat focused on Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) heritage.

The Rev. Jo Ann Lagman, missioner for Asiamerica Ministries and a Filipina American, described the cranes as prayers made tangible. “Each crane sent to us was a prayer, and at the vigil we were all praying together with everyone who folded paper cranes,” she said. The project also drew support from Quakers in Florida, who contributed cranes ahead of the April retreat.

This origami crane campaign was inspired by Tsuru for Solidarity, a Japanese American social justice group committed to ending immigration detention and advocating for fairer immigration policies. In Japanese culture, the crane symbolizes transformation, healing, and nonviolence—a fitting emblem for a movement confronting the inhumane conditions and civil rights violations rampant in ICE detention centers.

The retreat’s theme, “Let it Not Happen Again,” echoed the historic trauma of Japanese American internment during World War II, drawing a direct line between past and present injustices. Participants visited sites memorializing the forced exclusion and suffering of AANHPI communities, including the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial and St. Peter’s Episcopal Parish, a historically Japanese church in Seattle.

The gathering also included a visit to Tacoma’s Chinese Reconciliation Park, which commemorates the violent expulsion of Chinese residents in 1885. There, clergy led a Stations of the Cross reflecting the persecution faced by Chinese Americans—a stark reminder that the violent oppression of immigrants is not new, but ongoing. The ICE detention center loomed in view, underscoring the continuity of such abuses.

With over 60,000 migrants currently held in ICE custody, according to recent data, the peaceful folding of thousands of cranes serves as a poignant call for justice, healing, and an end to the systemic cruelty inflicted on immigrant communities. As the Rev. Lagman put it, this shared act of remembrance and resistance is “really transformative,” inspiring ongoing reflection and commitment to fight for immigrant rights.

This initiative shines a light on the human cost of the immigration detention system and the urgent need for accountability and reform. It reminds us that behind every statistic is a person deserving dignity, compassion, and freedom.