Within hours of coming into office, President Donald Trump rescinded a 14-year policy prohibiting Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers from arresting migrants near “sensitive locations,” including schools, hospitals, and places of worship. Within a week, ICE made its first arrests at a place of worship: a church in suburban Atlanta.
For faith-based immigration advocates, the flood of actions in Trump’s first two weeks underscored their need to build a sustainable church infrastructure to support migrants. Toward that effort, Fuller Centro Latino, the Association for Hispanic Theological Education, the Latino Christian National Network, Urban Strategies, and SojoAction have collaborated to produce a series of educational webinars.
[Editor’s note: SojoAction is the mobilizing and advocacy arm of Sojourners, independent from the magazine. Learn more here.]
Sandy Ovalle, senior director of campaigns and mobilizing for SojoAction, hosts the webinar, A Church That Accompanies the Migrant, the first Monday of every month to equip church leaders to respond “biblically, compassionately, and reliably” against immigration enforcement tactics that harm their congregations. The webinars are hosted in Spanish and translated to English.
“Our communities are in fear, and pastors are in key positions to address some of this fear,” Ovalle said in an interview with Sojourners. “If the pastors can train their congregations in how to respond to ICE visits, their communities can be safer … It increases agency for folks and makes them feel less fearful.”
The first webinar occurred on Jan. 6 with over 200 attendees and focused on the rights of the church, and the legal actions they can take to defend their members. They advised churches to directly name serving the immigrant community in their mission statements or bylaws to support their argument that deportations violate religious liberty.
The second webinar, on Feb. 3, focused on preparing for ICE encounters. Over 300 individuals attended the event. Rev. Carlos Malavé, president of LCNN, began the webinar with a short reflection on 1 Kings 19 and compared prophet Elijah’s story to the suffering of the Latin community. As he spoke in Spanish, Grace Saavedra provided the English translation.
“Almost daily, I hear stories of brothers and sisters who have already been deported or who have received orders for deportation,” Malavé said according to translation. “God is counting on the Elijahs who are willing to lead our people through this moment without any fear.”
Matthew Soerens, vice president of advocacy and policy at World Relief, provided migration updates, including the Trump administration’s expanding expedited removal and suspending asylum for refugees at the southern border. Soerens predicted there will a rise of legal challenges against these demands of the Trump administration.
In the next segment, Ovalle offered a four-step family preparation plan: gathering important documents, creating a contingency child care plan, learning immigration options, and knowing one’s rights. Diana Pliego, senior strategist at the National Immigration Law Center, dove further into the fourth step, explaining the right to stay silent and to obtain a lawyer. She then explained differences between judicial warrants and ICE administrative warrants. While both are formal documents, administrative warrants do not authorize immigration enforcement officials to search homes or other private spaces. State and federal judges and magistrates issue judicial warrants that include a judge’s signature on the form. While people must open the door with an order issued by judicial courts, they can refuse access to their homes if presented with an administrative warrant.
Jeffry Caballero, president of the Hispanic Center for Theological Studies, offered churches four ways to exercise their rights: encouraging members to find legal counsel before encountering ICE agents, facilitating communication between detainees and lawyers through immigration form G-28, designating a church liaison to assist with immigration matters, and creating a rapid response network within the church.
Attendees asked several questions related to the church and immigration enforcement in general. Caballero answered the Q&A section.
“Can ICE interrupt church services?” Mary Ann Martinez asked. While ICE doesn’t have the right to disrupt religious services, they may still do it regardless of the law.
“Are migrants required to show ID to an officer if they haven’t committed a crime and there is no specific reason to ask for it?” Josué Montano asked. The answer: It varies by the situation, as each state has different laws. There are also certain state laws that require a person to identify themselves. For example, if pulled over while driving, one may be asked to show their license. But in the context of immigration, migrants have the right to remain silent. Caballero recommended not showing any form of identification to immigration officers.
“If a person has an immigration summons but does not yet have a deportation order, is there a risk of being deported when they appear at the corresponding office?” Leuyin Garcia asked. This depends on the date of entry. With expansion of expedited removal, if a migrant has entered within the last two years, they may be deported without a court hearing, he said. Caballero predicted that if migrants have been in the country two years or less, there is a higher chance of deportation.
The seminar ended with shared testimonies among audience members.
According to Ovalle, the next webinar will focus on what to do if ICE detains a member of the congregation. The series will continue until at least December.
“We’ll do them as long as they’re needed” she said. “There’s no stop time.”
Got something to say about what you're reading? We value your feedback!
