DeSantis’ proposed immigration measures “harm humanity” and “don’t align with what we preach,” said Rodríguez, who also serves as the secretary for the Florida Fellowship of Hispanic Bishops and Evangelical Institutions.
The faith community must serve the people, Rodríguez said, and screening congregants to see if they are immigrants or undocumented “would affect our way of serving the community.”
The Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, who serves as president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, said “there is angst in the Latino evangelical community” over DeSantis’ immigration proposal.
“Every Latino pastor in the state of Florida, every Latino pastor who pastors a Spanish-speaking ministry, if I were a betting man, we have undocumented individuals in each of these churches, bar none,” he said. ”So are you saying that the same Latino pastors that are pro-life, pro-religious liberty, biblical justice, no to socialism and communism and yes to parental rights — that this leadership, that we are criminals?”
The pastor lauded DeSantis’ “outreach to the Hispanic evangelical community,” but said he is concerned about the third degree felony penalties for harboring someone who is undocumented as well as hospitals collecting immigration information. This doesn’t mean that Latino evangelicals favor President Joe Biden’s handling of immigration issues, he added.
Additionally, Samuel Rodriguez said he’s seeking a meeting with DeSantis to express their concerns with his current proposal. “We can say we want to stop illegal immigration, but we have to demonstrate some common sense compassion as it pertains to basic human services.”
Pastors David and Ada Rivera, who lead Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal in Tampa, Florida, were among those who protested in Tallahassee last year. Their church, with a membership of about 1,500, has served as a shelter for unaccompanied youth.
“We know that people come looking for a better way of life,” said David Rivera. “We want to help them. We don’t want them to fall in somebody else’s hands.”
The Riveras joined the Florida Immigrant Coalition as well as other business and multifaith leaders in issuing a statement condemning DeSantis’ “draconian measures.”
“The governor knows that the fastest growing church is the immigrant church. When he declares radical anti-immigrant mandates, he is declaring war against the church,” they said.
The Rev. Rubén Ortiz. Courtesy photo
For the Rev. Rubén Ortiz, who with his wife, Xiomara, pastors Comunidad Cristiana Nuevo Pacto, the governor’s proposed measures — if enacted — would mean they’d be “breaking the law from Day One.”
The governor “would be violating our rights, specifically in the case of us ’transporting or harboring’ immigrants,” said Ortiz, who is Cuban American.
