State officials are urging calm but preparation as the Trump administration removes limits to agents seeking immigrants at houses of worship.
The state attorney general’s office and Office for Refugees and Immigrants held an online information session for faith leaders in collaboration with Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston and the Massachusetts Council of Churches, with over 1,200 registrants.
Churches have long served as sanctuaries — and have generally been off limits to immigration enforcement. Many immigrants are also practicing members of Christian and Muslim faiths, and attend services. But new guidance under the Trump administration opens up churches and schools as potential sites for arrests.
And, with a policy change, some faith leaders sought to educate themselves on what to do if immigration enforcement officials come to their door.
Among the recommendations were to consult an attorney ahead of time to review the space’s privacy and visitor policies; establish a relationship with an immigration attorney; designate a staff member who is the key communicator with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); and to never physically interfere with an officer.
“Ask that officer for his or her name, their identification number and the name of the agency that they’re affiliated with. Ask the officer for a copy of the warrant. Make sure that it is signed,” said Brett Gannon, assistant attorney general, adding that the individual’s name must be spelled correctly.
Gannon and colleague Elizabeth Matos said that houses of worship should consider the risks of accepting someone into sanctuary, a long practice of immigrants seeking a safe haven.
Those include consulting with a lawyer about any harboring statutes, and considering hosting families in case the organization receives federal funding. The Trump administration has indicated it will axe funds going to entities that support undocumented immigrants.
One attendee, the Rev. James Leavitt, works with a nonprofit called the Massachusetts Baptist Multicultural Ministries. He says many of the immigrant families his organization works with are scared to send their kids to school or go to programming like English classes.
To Leavitt, the major takeaway from Tuesday’s presentation was “the importance of having information to share.”
Susan Church, chief operating officer for the state’s Office for Refugees and Immigrants, recommended faith leaders give out know-your-rights cards for immigrants to keep on themselves, by their front doors and in glove compartments.
Those explicitly note that agents don’t have the right to enter unless there’s a signed warrant that can be slid under the door.
“My advice is talk to an immigration attorney before anybody is at your door, if at all possible, to figure out what whether you’re eligible for bail or not,” said Church to faith leaders interesting in knowing what to tell their congregants.
There are increasing concerns of people without criminal records but without papers being arrested given the president’s executive orders ending humanitarian parole , a two-year program allowing eligible immigrants to remain and work legally in the United States.
Church at the state’s refugee office warned against widespread fear, saying that with ICE’s new daily quota , it’s unlikely they’d go to a service without knowing the statuses of the many people that go.
“I really don’t think ICE is going to come in to people’s churches and arrest people. I really don’t think that’s where their priorities lie,” she said.
Church urged faith leaders to have common-sense conversations with parishioners and prepare with resources, not rumors.
“You can see why people are terrified. But also talk about — the reality is that there are limits on their [ICE’s] ability to go places.”
