Latino Christian leaders meeting in Southern California discussed how best to pastor congregations newly traumatized by the Trump mass deportation policy.
For the second time in six weeks, a pastor was struck in the head with a pepper round fired by a US immigration agent as faith leaders protested the arrival of more than 100 US Customs and Border Patrol agents.
The suit was primarily brought by journalists who allege they have been targeted by federal agents, but the list of plaintiffs also included the Rev. David Black, a Chicago-area Presbyterian minister.
Despite potential danger, religious leaders and faith activists have been a visible presence at Chicago-area ICE protests, some waving signs with slogans such as ‘Love thy neighbor’ and ‘Who would Jesus deport?’
The Trump administration’s deportation of more than a hundred Iranians held in ICE custody includes Christian converts and other religious minorities who may face harsh penalties for their religious beliefs upon return.
The first American pope weighed in on a controversy roiling the Chicago diocese, telling journalists the Catholic Church’s political positions include more than opposing abortion.
The split reflects the dilemma immigration poses for evangelical leaders. Most evangelicals want reform that both secures the border and provides a path to citizenship — and want limited deportation. But few leaders want to clash with the MAGA movement.
As immigrants increasingly fear detention at ICE check-ins, many faith groups have doubled down on accompaniment strategies to support them at those appointments.
Churches across Chicago braced for Trump’s threat of a National Guard deployment and apocalyptic force, even as Chicago’s rates of violent crime have dropped substantially in recent years as part of a national trend.