The Catholic churches that serve Spanish -speaking communities in the Archdiocese of Washington (United States) have reported concern because the meetings with immigration agents continue to be an important aspect of Trump’s government offensive against crime in the country’s capital.
The sanctuary of the Sacred Heart in Columbia Heights reported that Six of his parishioners were arrested By agents of the Immigration and Customs Control (ICE) in recent weeks, including a accommodator who was going to the evening Mass. Other parishes in the Archdiocese have also expressed concern about the current situation in the Columbia district.
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This happens after the Trump administration will announce on August 11 the deployment of federal agents and the National Guard to combat generalized crime in the DC
After an executive order of the Head of the Washington Metropolitan Police, Pamela Smith, the DC police officers have been authorized to notify ICE agents about meetings with undocumented migrants, which has resulted in a close collaboration between both security agencies in the city.
The parish priest of the Sanctuary of the Sacred Heart, Fr. Emilio Biosca Agüero, ofm Cap, told Religion News Service That one of the parishioners stopped by ICE was a man who was in preparation for marriage, while another attended a confirmation class.
The priest said that some of the detainees were intercepted by immigration officers while heading to the sanctuary for catechesis classes in recent weeks. Biosca estimated in the report that Mass attendance in its parish has decreased approximately 20%, from 2,500 to less than 2,000 people.
The priest also commented that the WhatsApp chats of the parish “have been filled with reports of immigration agents and warnings to the members of the parish.”
Biosca Agüero declined to comment on the story to CNA, an agency in English of Ewtn News.
Last month, an ICE spokesman said to CNA: “Although ICE is not subject to previous restrictions on immigration operations in sensitive places, including schools, churches and courts, ICE does not perform indiscriminate compliance actions in these places.”
“ICE arrests foreigners who commit crimes and other people who have violated the immigration laws of our nation,” said the spokesman, adding: “All foreigners who violate the United States Immigration Law can be subject to arrest, detention and, if it is determined that they are removable in the final order, be removed from the United States.”
According to the RNS report, attendance at the Catholic Church of San Gabriel, in the Petworth neighborhood in DC, has also decreased.
The communications director of the Parish Our Lady Queen of the Americas, Kevin Arevalo, told CNA that “the parishioners who have attended the Sunday Mass have expressed concerns and fears about the situation here in DC.”
Arevalo commented that there have been no arrests in the land of the Church and that he has no knowledge of parishioners arrested on his way to Mass in the parish or in its surroundings.
However, he pointed out that several arrests that he has heard have occurred in neighborhoods such as Columbia Heights and Mount pleasant, and many parishioners of Our Lady Queen of the Americas “have to go through those areas to reach our parish.”
Therefore, Arevalo and the administrator of the parish, Fr. James Morrison, are currently preparing alternative forms to reach the community in the face of the increase in fears related to the application of the immigration law.
“I know that most live quite far and make a special effort to come here to our masses and activities,” he said, “so we are considering using digital media and our online channels to communicate with them and serve them in the best possible way.”
He concluded: “We will definitely not be silent about this because our parish, for the most part, is a Hispanic-Latin community. So we want to make sure we are listening to them and attentive to what they are living.”
At the time of publication, the Archdiocese of Washington has not responded to requests for comments. The United States Catholic Bishop Conference (USCCB) declined to comment.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Press team. Originally published in CNA.
Low Elhabbal
Madalaine Elhabbal is a CNA journalist based in the Washington DC office in EWTN. He has published articles in Catholicvote and has also worked as a foreign language assistant in France. She is a graduate of Benedictine College.