'Sent Chill Up Spine of Latino Churches': Hispanic Pastors Respond to Possible ICE Raids

The new Trump administration has opened the door for federal immigration agencies to make arrests at places like schools, hospitals, and churches. The move ends a policy that had been in effect since 2011 and leaves many in the Hispanic faith community on edge.

"These changes has sent a chill up the spine of the Latino evangelical church," said Pastor Gabriel of The Gathering, a Latino-led Assemblies of God congregation in Orlando.

"I live in the great state of Florida, and so Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans make up large parts of our faith communities, whether they're evangelical or Catholic," Salguero told CBN News. 

Salguero recently talked about concerns he and other Hispanic faith leaders share now that schools and places of worship are no longer off limits.

"I've gotten hundreds of calls and texts and the question for pastors is exactly how are these policies going to be executed in sensitive places or sensitive locations," commented Salguero.  "For example, if you execute a raid in a church in the middle of a worship service and there are citizens, permanent legal residents, there are mixed status, they're all sitting next to each other in worship. Or if we're doing community service teaching English as a second language or providing food pantries, we don't ask people about their citizenship status to give them communion or to provide food for them. We're just trying to find the gospel mandate to love our neighbor."

According to the Department of Homeland Security, "Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America's schools and churches to avoid arrest." 

During an interview on Sunday's "Face the Nation," Vice President JD Vance was asked about the issue.

"Of course, if you have a person who is convicted of a violent crime whether they're an illegal immigrant or a non-illegal immigrant you have to go and get that person to protect the public safety," Vance explained. "That's not unique to immigration."

Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, President of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, said he understands the fear.

"I share a bit of that concern," Rodriguez told CBN News. "I want to make sure they don't cross the line, meaning the administration. I'm hearing from bishops and pastors saying, 'Our attendance dropped 15, 20 percent because there is a concern.'"

Rodriguez is confident, however, that only criminals will be targeted in such raids.

"I can tell you firsthand, the administration is going to go into schools, and churches and hospitals but not to deport individuals who have been here 15, 20, 25 years who have never had a parking ticket," said Rodriguez. "They're coming after the pedophiles. They're coming after the gangbangers. They're coming after the cartels."

Still, Salguero worries about the negative impact this could have on the innocent within a congregation.

"How are we going to ensure not striking fear in the citizens that are there at the same time, in children that are there at the same," he questioned.

These are all challenges Rodriguez said he is expressing to the White House.

"I began a process in the past 48 hours to express my concern and not just my concern but the concern of the national Christian Hispanic Leadership Conference – our network and the concern of Latino pastors and leaders across the country – who supported him by the way in the last election. I am in that process as we speak," Rodriguez explained.