As Deportation Fears Keep Immigrants From Work, Their Churches Feel Financial Strain

Torres preaches to nearly 10,000 families at Mass most weekends. “Even though it’s a difficult time, let’s not allow the fear to control us,” he said he tells them during homilies, where he has drawn on Jesus’ words, “peace be with you.”

But he told RNS that the festival is different from Mass. “ Here in the church, I could protect you,” Torres said. “For example, if ICE shows up at the church, I could close the doors, and I don’t think they’ll come in.”

Amid the carnival rides, “outside, I can’t really protect you,” he said, imagining ICE could carry out detentions without him even being aware.

Torres said he isn’t worried about the church’s finances because “poor people are the ones that are the most generous.” The priest said he is telling families to “pray for those who have more fear than you” and help those they know in need. “Don’t be selfish,” he said he has instructed, citing Jesus’ teachings. “Somebody else is being affected. You have to support that person, help that person.”

Pastor Sergio Elias of the Brazilian Free Methodist Church in Connecticut said the emotional strain on congregations is a major issue, even as leaders provide pastoral care.

“We have people who are locked in their homes out of fear, or only leaving to go to work. No leisure, no outings with their families, no vacations — sometimes not even coming to church. … They are terrified,” he said.

The immigrant experience, especially as immigrants seek legal status, has never been easy. “The fear of deportation has always been part of the undocumented immigrant experience, even under other administrations,” said Elias.

“But what makes the current moment unique is how openly and aggressively the Trump administration has approached the issue as an explicit political platform,” he said. “Before, deportations happened, but without this tone of declared targeting. This posture has quietly legitimized hostile attitudes among people who already held anti-immigrant views, making everyday discrimination more common.”