STOCKTON, Calif. — Earlier than main his Stockton-based church in a hymn, the Rev. Nelson Rabell-González pumped his proper fist.
“The fear will not beat us,” he stated in Spanish. Then, the congregation of a number of dozen at Iglesia Luterana Santa María Peregrina started to sing.
The pastor was extra direct later in his sermon: “The whole church is standing up to fight for you, the migrant community,” he stated, “because Christ was also a migrant.”
Rabell-González continued, elevating his voice. Jesus and his mother and father acquired hospitality in Egypt once they fled there. So, his church would additionally supply help to its parishioners — lots of that are undocumented.
“Cueste lo que cueste,” he stated on the Feb. 2 service. Regardless of the price.
That promise of safety is far tougher to offer now that Donald Trump has returned to the White Home. Earlier than then, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers largely averted arrests at or close to locations of worship as coverage.
In January, the Trump administration rescinded that steering, prompting nationwide worry that church buildings, temples, synagogues and different facilities might be targets of immigration enforcement. Thus far, there haven’t been widespread reviews of arrests at these non secular websites throughout the nation. A number of faith-based teams have filed lawsuits towards the brand new order in current weeks.
Throughout Trump’s first time period, Rabell-González vowed to offer a protected haven for undocumented immigrants within the occasion of ICE enforcement close to the Lodi church the place he was a pastor. Now, he faces one other alternative: Converse out or lie low?
For Rabell-González, the reply is simple. To create a sanctuary within the present surroundings, he’s organizing occasions to coach his members on their rights if they’re approached by federal officers. He additionally forcefully helps immigrants at his companies, saying that doing the alternative would go towards the needs of his followers and God.
“Long live the immigrant people,” the pastor referred to as out throughout the noon service.
“Long live,” parishioners responded.
‘Immigrants have rights’
The congregation was observing Día de la Candelaria, or the celebration of the presentation of Jesus at a temple in Jerusalem.
The Sunday service started with a dance group performing to beating drums in an aisle between rows of chairs. Parishioners introduced small child Jesus collectible figurines for the pastor to bless throughout the center of the service. At instances, Rabell-González, 52, cradled certainly one of a Black child Jesus.
Born in Puerto Rico to a lawyer and a political activist, Rabell-González identifies as Afro-Latino. Rising up, he noticed Haitians, Dominicans and Black Puerto Ricans handled in another way due to the colour of their pores and skin and their nationality. He calls himself a proponent of Black Lives Matter, immigrants and LGBTQ+ rights.
A satisfaction flag supporting LGBTQ+ individuals hung close to the altar of the church. The congregation doesn’t have a everlasting house, as a substitute renting a modest brick church alongside a busy street close to College of the Pacific.
On the service, when he requested parishioners if they’d any prayers of their very own, the dialog returned to immigration.
Rabell-González presides over what he calls “a migrant church.” Greater than half of the parishioners are undocumented or who’ve relations with completely different immigration statuses, in keeping with the pastor. His Spanish companies are unusual for the church’s denomination. Just one% of parishioners within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Americaidentify as Hispanic, in keeping with the Pew Analysis Middle.
Even so, some Latinos don’t share the pastor’s views. Each native born and undocumented immigrants help Trump and his requires cracking down on individuals unlawfully coming into the nation.
However these sentiments weren’t shared throughout the current service.
“We ask God for our immigrant community to maintain its faith, to remain strong and to always be blessed and united,” one individual stated in response to the pastor’s prayer request. One other wished prayers: “For all the people who are in detentions and those who have been deported.”
Earlier than the roughly hourlong service ended, Rabell-González referred to as up Kelvin Rosado-Rivera, an immigration legal professional the pastor invited to tell the parishioners about their rights.
Rosado-Rivera suggested them that they don’t have to speak if they’re approached by federal authorities and don’t must open their doorways for immigration officers until they’ve a correct warrant.
Joaquin Hernandez, 48, was born in Mexico. He raised his hand and requested about his rights inside a automobile. Hernandez had not too long ago seen a video on social media, which confirmed an individual being pulled over by legislation enforcement.
“Is it the same as if I was in my home?”
Rosado-Rivera stated there was a distinction when inside a automobile. If an officer pulled Hernandez over, he would want to offer his license and registration.
However, the legal professional added, Hernandez wouldn’t must reply any questions on what nation he’s from.
Hernandez sat subsequent to his spouse Maria De la Cruz, 57, who can also be from Mexico. Each are undocumented and met within the U.S. after transferring to the nation within the Nineteen Nineties. Hernandez takes care of horses on a ranch after years working within the fields. De la Cruz has labored in farms and factories.
Parishioners requested Rosado-Rivera questions on how one can react in the event that they or their household had been confronted. Some had been afraid of encounters with ICE and sought recommendation on what to do legally if that occurs. These are issues the legal professional has heard since Trump has returned to workplace.
“When people ask me what the first message is that I would give — it’s that all the immigrants have rights,” he stated.
‘More with the community’
The celebration continued after the service ended. Many stayed to eat home made tamales in a eating room space of the church as Rabell-González went desk to desk holding hats and T-shirts with “BORDER PATROL” and “ICE” to familiarize members with apparel worn by immigration officers.
“I know you guys recognize this, but I’m just going around reminding people,” he stated to Daniel and Alyda Arroyo.
The couple joined the church after Trump was re-elected in November. They had been searching for a spot the place they might reside out their religion extra brazenly by activism and social justice.
“We wanted to be more with the community, with the migrant community,” stated Daniel, 28, who was born within the U.S. His mother and father turned residents after immigrating from Mexico.
Alyda, 28, was additionally born right here. She stated the pastor’s outspokenness about points, together with immigration, has made her really feel extra empowered to face up for her personal views.
“You can tell the pastor has a heart for the congregation,” she stated. “He conveys that he’s willing to do what he can to make sure that they are safe and protected.”
Hernandez joked with Rabell-González because the pastor walked by his desk with the Border Patrol hat: “I’ll trade you, father,” he stated, earlier than providing his personal sombrero and laughing. Hernandez met Rabell-González in 2018 at a gathering associated to farmworker activism and has adopted him ever since. He and De la Cruz traveled a couple of half hour to attend the current service.
The Mexican couple stated they really feel much less worry now about deportation than they did 15 years in the past, when removals had been notably excessive beneath President Barack Obama. Their youngsters are adults now and have began their very own lives.
The couple is constructing a home in Mexico, and Hernandez stated they could wish to return in the future to the place he grew up.
“My homeland is asking for me,” stated Hernandez, who hasn’t been again since 1996. “It’s been so many years.”
De la Cruz stated she will be able to’t totally escape the considered immigration officers when she leaves the home. However she hasn’t stopped going out to the church or grocery retailer. Her daughters plead together with her to remain house extra.
Hernandez doesn’t have a problem with the Trump administration going after undocumented people who find themselves criminals, however he stated it shouldn’t go after onerous working people who find themselves merely making an attempt to make a dwelling.
“That is where they are doing bad,” he stated. As for the coverage change about church buildings, he added, “It’s not just. Because they don’t respect the house of God anymore.”
Rabell-González remained within the eating room, sitting with a couple of parishioners, greater than three hours after the service began. They talked about methods to protest the Trump administration’s insurance policies and stated it was necessary to plan for “the worst.”
Educating individuals on their rights wanted to proceed, Rabell-González stated. If immigration officers present up on the church, he plans to encourage members to videotape and demand these rights are revered.
The pastor desires them to stay vigilant. However not be paralyzed by worry.