More than 150 bishops from the Episcopal Church in the United States have called on Americans to “trust their moral compass” over raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Minnesota.

The raids led to the deaths of two protestors – Christian mother Renee Good and nurse Alex Pretti – in January. The bishops have described their killings as “state-sanctioned violence”.

In an open letter to “our fellow Americans”, the 154 bishops expressed “grief, righteous anger and steadfast hope” and called for the immediate suspension of ICE operations in Minnesota and “in any community where enforcement has eroded public trust”.

The bishops also called for “transparent, independent investigations of the people killed — investigations centred on truth, not politics. … We call on the elected officials of our nation to remember the values that we share, including the rule of law.”

Urging Americans to “trust their moral compass” and to question “rhetoric that trades in fear rather than the truth”, the bishops added: “Safety built on fear is an illusion. True safety comes when we replace fear with compassion, violence with justice, and unchecked power with accountability. That’s the vision our faith calls us to live out — and the promise our country is meant to uphold.”