PHILADELPHIA -- Lifted by song, prayer, and Scripture, dozens of Philadelphia-area Catholics rallied outside the Center City ICE office on Wednesday, joining a pro-immigrant push undertaken by fellow church groups around the country.

Catholic priests, nuns, and other supporters prayed and sang outside the field office near Eighth and Cherry Streets, joining a nationwide show of solidarity with migrant families, refugees, and asylum-seekers.

“We reject the culture of fear that dehumanizes,” Michelle Cimaroli of Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, an international community of Catholic women, told the crowd of about 50 people. “As Catholics, we stand with immigrants.”

Speakers called on people to see the face of God in every human face. And to be as confident as Jesus in sharing the truth.

Catholic organizations across the country are taking part in a campaign called One Church, One Family: Catholic Public Witness for Immigrants. The movement invites parishes, schools, and faith-based groups to host prayerful public events that proclaim the dignity of every person.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said in a statement: “ICE respects the rights of individuals to peacefully protest.”

A second day of prayer is planned for Nov. 13, timed to coincide with the feast of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, an Italian immigrant who became the first U.S. citizen to be declared a saint, according to the National Catholic Reporter.

“I want us to take a moment to just let our hearts break,” Peter Pedemonti, codirector of New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia, told the crowd in Center City. “That we don’t let the daily barrage of bad news harden us.”

He and other advocates said they believed ICE arrested four people in Philadelphia on Wednesday, including a man at the Italian Market.

“We’re trying to get Catholics across the country to listen to Pope Leo’s message: Migrants lead us, they lead us to a true set of values,” said Jerry Zurek, who serves as local co-organizer of NETWORK, the Catholic social-justice group, and who took part in the Philadelphia rally.

This month the pope described migrants and refugees as “privileged witnesses of hope through their resilience and trust in God,” maintaining their strength while seeking a better future “in spite of the obstacles that they encounter,” Catholic News Service reported.

Big and small protests continue to take place in the Philadelphia area and around the county in opposition to President Donald Trump’s effort to deport millions of people. The number of people arrested by ICE in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania has surged since the agency reportedly implemented a 3,000-arrests-a-day quota in late May.

Arrests doubled from an average of 26 a day since Trump took office through May 21, to an average of 51 a day between May 22 and June 26 for the three states. At the same time, the proportion of people arrested without a criminal record or pending criminal charges soared, up two-thirds since the directive to ICE was issued.

“As Catholics and people of deep faith, we reject the culture of fear and silence that dehumanizes, and we choose instead to stand with migrants,” local organizers said in a statement, pledging “to defend the dignity of our neighbors, family members, fellow parishioners, classmates, coworkers, and friends.”

The body of U.S. bishops, individual bishops, and Catholic organizations have been speaking out against what they call inhumane policies that go against church teachings on immigration.

Local leaders said the campaign is sponsored by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Migration and Refugee Services, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, Jesuit Refugee Service/USA, and many others.

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