The video call begins, and seven bilingual women, all from different Californian cities, share their beliefs and discuss their Bible readings: “Can you imagine? It gives me goosebumps,” said one, reading a moving passage about “the eternal city.” The others nod in agreement.
Online gatherings are one of the ways some Christian denominations are offering their services now, as in-person attendance has fallen in some places due to fears of immigration raids on places of worship, according to Christian leader Carlos Malavé. He directs the Latino Christian National Network, a network of pastors and church leaders that the reverend says represents some 4,000 churches across the United States.
For three decades, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement policy restricted operations on churches, schools and hospitals. But it was reversed in January by the Trump administration, sowing fear among parishioners about whether it is safe to attend their church.
This reversal prompted many pastors to rethink the way in which their services are delivered. Malavé said this is happening even in areas where congregations supported President Donald Trump in last year’s election.
“The churches are alarmed, obviously tremendously alarmed” by the raids, Malavé said.
“They started resorting to holding those services, Bible studies and meetings, through Zoom and those resources, which they at least already had experience with during Covid-19,” said the reverend, who is of Puerto Rican descent.
Malavé said members of the network he leads have also taken steps such as having their food home-delivered from their soup kitchens and food banks, and moving English classes that were offered in churches to online platforms.
Whereas in the past churches have served as a refuge for many undocumented immigrants, the changes are “due to the fear among some that coming to church constitutes a danger,” he said.
1 in 12 Christians at risk of deportation
This comes as more Latinos of faith in the U.S. have turned in recent years to Christian or Protestant denominations, which surveys show are more likely to support the Christian nationalism that Trump promotes. The president created a White House office dedicated to faith.
A new report published jointly by groups and religious associations of different denominations estimates that 1 in 18 evangelicals and 1 in 5 Catholics in the U.S. (averaging one in 12 Christians) are at risk of deportation or losing a loved one to the deportations contemplated by the Trump administration. Up to 80% of those potentially at risk of deportation are Christians, according to the report.
While it’s been common in several Christian churches to stream certain events like Sunday morning services on YouTube, the use of streaming platforms or video calls for events such as Bible study groups has not been as common.
Malavé said that fears have diminished somewhat after a judge ordered a temporary halt at the end of February to the policy allowing immigration raids in churches and other venues. The judicial order followed a request from several religious groups that the Trump administration reconsider the policy.
But “the fear is still there,” Malavé said, because, for many, going from hearing what the Trump administration wanted to do “to seeing what’s starting to happen is still a shock.” He said that during the presidential campaign, many Latino Christians thought Trump was only going to go after “criminal immigrants.”
Instead, people are seeing the reports of increased arrests and deportations, including of people without criminal records or who are in the country legally; the pause on processing some green card applications; and the rescinding of Temporary Protective Status or parole programs that had already passed thorough reviews by authorities.
Not all Latino church leaders see allowing raids near places of worship as a negative thing.
“I don’t think there’s any reason to be afraid,” said Reverend Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. “This administration is currently 100% focused on tracking down and deporting those involved in criminal activity,” he said.
Rodriguez, who in recent weeks has been invited to the White House as part of the advisory board on faith issues, does admit that it’s possible that people who aren’t involved in criminal activities could be entangled in the raids.
“If that person is in an environment where there are other undocumented people, unfortunately [federal officials] did share with me that ‘you are who you surround yourself with,’ and if you don’t have documents, you’re also likely to suffer the consequences of deportation,” the pastor said.
Rodríguez thought it was important to continue attending religious services in person.
“This is the precise time to pray more, to seek God more than ever before,” he said. He said his message to the faithful is, “immigrants are going to save this country because they are a people of faith, so keep your faith before you.”
Rodriguez said that, “if there is a violation of what this administration has promised me, I will gladly raise my voice” to request a review of the situation; for example, if he learns of a raid that disrupts a Sunday service.
A belief in the law — and protecting ‘our people’
But for other Christian church leaders, more needs to be done.
Malavé said that the Latino Christian National Network has been offering webinars to church leaders “so they can guide their church members on what their rights are; how to deal with the emotional crisis, the spiritual crisis this is creating in our people; what documents and paperwork they need to have in case a person is arrested by ICE and all those types of procedures.”
Other church groups have also been urging the Trump administration not to dismantle international assistance programs.
For years, the Latino Christian National Network has been calling on Congress and different administrations to pass immigration reform legislation.
“We don’t advocate living in a country where there are no laws, nor do we advocate breaking laws,” Malavé said. “We understand that there are laws for everything, including immigration laws, and we believe those laws must be respected.”
But “our first position is that we must protect our people,” said Malavé, as part of the church’s commitment and responsibility to safeguard the Latino community’s well-being.
An earlier version of this story was first published in Noticias Telemundo.
