Bishop Ebli de la Rosa says that his motto at the moment “is to prepare for the worst and pray for the best”.
De la Rosa, which monitors the church of God’s prophecy in nine southeastern states, had to react quickly to the modern commands of the Trump government that triggered guidelines.
This step endangered 32 of the 70 pastors of the Latin American Evangelical denominations that are here without legal status and serve in some of the most endangered communities in the region, said de la Rosa. The bishop has instructed each municipality with endangered pastors to prepare three laypersons to take over the takeover if their leader is deported. He also told them that they should take up every service live stream and “continue, even if something happens”.
“Some of my pastors keep services with closed doors because they are afraid that immigration agents will burst through the door at any moment,” he said. “I feel so bad and helpless that I can no longer do anything for them.”
De la Rosa reflects the feelings of several other faith leaders who represent thousands of Protestant Christians in Florida and parts of the southeast. They are worried about the holiness of their holy rooms and the possibility of immigration attacks and arrests.
An explanation of the Ministry of Homeland Protection on January 20 states to avoid arrest. “
Agustin Quiles, a spokesman for the Florida Fellowship of Hispanic Councils and Evangelical Institutions, said that the members of the community, including many who support Donald Trump in the last election cycle, are now destroyed and abandoned.
“The messaging seems to be that everyone who is undocumented is a criminal,” he said. “Latino evangelicals have largely chosen against Republicans and represent conservative views on topics such as abortion. We would like to ask the president to rethink so many families in and beyond our churches because these actions cause pain and trauma. Her suffering is great and the church suffers from them. “
Quiles said his organization would exploit the legislators in Washington and Florida to re -incorporate laws that protected sensitive spaces like worshipers.
“Our main focus is on the unity of families and the many children who are affected or left without their parents,” he said.
Pastor Samuel Rodriguez, President of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, who advised President Trump about immigration during his first term, he had been “assured that the knowledge” has been assured several times.
“There should be no fear because it affects churches because nobody will come to a church with or without weapons,” he said. “That will never happen.”
Rodriguez, however, said agents could monitor a church if they suspect that someone who deals with criminal activities is looking for protection there. And he said that those who are illegal here – even if they have been living in the United States for decades – can be deported if they live with someone who is illegal here and has committed a crime.
The National Association of Evangelicals, which says that it represents 40 denominations and serves millions, expressed the dismay of the executive regulation.
“The withdrawal of instructions for the protection of houses of services, schools and health institutions before implementing immigration is worrying,” says January 22nd and claims that the move has visited some of the church.
Pastors who see the effects of these orders on site agree.
The Rev. Esteban Rodriguez, the Centro Cristiano el Pan de Vida, a medium -sized church of God of the Prophecy in Kissimmee, Florida, said that the Protestant churches of Latino are like a enormous family that consists of families. In his community, those who are here without legal status are even afraid to go to work, to the church and the food supply chambers to meet their basic needs, he said.
Rodriguez said that he had helped some of the encoders with reference letters for their immigration applications and spoke to lawyers to see how the church can proactively aid.
The Rev. Ruben Ortiz, Latino field coordinator for Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, says that the Latino churches have spent decades of creating these holy rooms at great costs without relying on government support. Ortiz said he was desperate to hear from an incident outside a church in the Atlanta region where a person was arrested while a service was held inside.
The Bible clearly says that a church is a place of refuge and that these laws question this holy faith, said Ortiz.
“We receive calls from members who say that they don’t feel safe in our churches,” he said. We will answer by giving protection. We will all accept it independently of your immigration status. Everyone can and should find refuge in our churches. “
Thomas A. Saenz, President and General Counsel of the Mexican -American legal defense and educational fund, said that he does not expect the immigration authorities to conduct raids against churches that violate and worship the constitutional law of humans.
“What you do and did is a specific person who may visit the church,” he said. “I would expect more from it.”
The law is murky about whether churches can legally protect those who are illegal here in the context of their faith, but there are robust arguments, said Saenz.
“People should know that they have rights they protect and that they have allies inside and outside the church who express their outrage when their constitutional rights are violated,” he said.
Latino Evangelicals are in a unique point because they are influenced by the theology of the right-wing white Evangelical churches, whose pastors and leaders are also the strongest voices against immigration, said Lloyd Barba, assistant professor for religion at Amherst College in Massachusetts, Latino Studies immigration and religion.
Barba said that the Evangelical Community in Latino includes many independent churches and various organizations that lack a uniform, central teaching on immigration – in contrast to Mainline confessions such as the United Methodist Church or the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
“Even the Catholic Church has a robust teaching and social teaching about immigration,” he said. “Without this, we tend to deal with a little more reluctance or uncertainty about whether Latino pastors should get involved in this kind of holy resistance.”
Bishop Abner Adorno with the meetings of God in the multicultural district of Florida said he leaned into the Bible, where he says that the apprenticeship about immigration is crystal clear. He refers to Deuteronomy 10:19, which says: “You too have to love foreigners for you who were in the country of Egypt.”
“This verse describes a Jewish-Christian foundation that deals with immigrants and refugees,” he said. “While the government’s concern must be the enforcement, the role of the church must be sympathy.”
___
The reporting on Associated Press Religion receives support from the cooperation of the AP with the conversation, with the financing of Lilly Stiftment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
