Ms. Rachel criticizes U.S. moral compass after child witnesses ICE shooting.

A 5-year-old boy watched his father get shot during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in New York City last week, prompting prominent children’s educator Ms. Rachel to question how the United States can claim adherence to Christian values while subjecting minors to such violence.

Ms. Rachel condemns trauma inflicted on children

In an Instagram post published on Oct. 9, Ms. Rachel addressed the shooting alongside broader concerns about the treatment of children in the U.S. and Gaza. She described the specific incident involving a vehicle occupied by a young child.

“ICE shot into a car with a 5-year-old child inside in our city yesterday,” she wrote. “That child watched his dad get shot. His dad is recovering in the hospital.”

She pushed back against narratives focusing solely on physical safety. “I keep seeing, ‘Thankfully, the child was not harmed!’” she stated. “Thankfully, he was not physically harmed. But he was deeply harmed.”

According to reports, the incident took place in the Marble Hill neighborhood of New York on Oct. 8. An ICE officer fired shots at a 28-year-old father during an enforcement action. Reuters confirmed that the 5-year-old passenger did not sustain physical injuries.

Questioning America’s moral compass and faith

Ms. Rachel argued that systemic harm to children indicates a loss of societal humanity. “A society that harms children in detention centers, in our neighborhoods, and in Gaza is a society that has lost its moral compass and abandoned its humanity,” she said.

She directly challenged the invocation of religious principles in political discourse. “We often hear calls for America to be more of a Christian nation. Yet we terrorize God’s precious children,” she noted. “We traumatize ‘the least of these.’ He cherishes, loves, and holds every one of his children in the palm of His hand. We bomb them.”

Continuing her critique, she listed actions she deemed contradictory to Jesus’s teachings. “We put them in detention centers. We kill them. What could be more profoundly contrary to the Christian tenets Jesus himself said were the most important?” she asked.

Prior advocacy regarding immigration policy

This statement marks another instance of Ms. Rachel speaking publicly on immigration issues. Earlier this year, she visited a detention facility in Texas, specifically the Del Rio center, where she observed conditions affecting families.

At that time, she defended her involvement in political matters. “It’s political to believe that children are worthy of love and protection,” she said then, asserting that advocating for children’s welfare is inherently a political act rooted in the belief that all children deserve care.