Last Friday, Rev. Jason Cook, a minister at Tapestry, a Unitarian Universalist congregation, showed up before immigration court in Santa Ana wearing a multicolored stole that resembled stained glass and his traditional white collar.
To support immigrants during their deportation hearings, Cook and religious leaders from several denominations have been appearing in courtrooms in Orange County, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego for a number of weeks. The practice began when religious groups discovered that many asylum-seeking immigrants were being detained in distant detention centers without having time to prepare or bid farewell to family members after being swept away by federal authorities following what had been presented as normal court appearances.
They have attempted to use their presence to reassure refugees and give the proceedings a semblance of moral authority. They have also moved to the benches of the courtroom to silently pray while bearing witness.
Clergy members searched the courthouse hallways for Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on Friday. The presence of plainclothes officers outside a courtroom was a clear sign that the migrants inside had been singled out for quick removal after their cases were heard.
Cook is aware that the presence of clergy won’t always affect how the case turns out, but in one case last month, ICE agents dispersed when clergy arrived at a San Diego courthouse. They want to let the immigrants know they are not forgotten, if nothing else, by providing spiritual solace.
According to Cook, a significant aspect of [our faith] is about showing compassion and consideration to newcomers. The purpose of our presence is to make an appeal to a higher authority than ICE.
The Biden administration has been using the CBP One mobile app since early 2023 to streamline the asylum application process, and many of the immigrants being held in immigration court are asylum seekers who entered the nation through this program. After arriving in Mexico, migrants could use the app to make appointments with U.S. officials at authorized ports of entry to submit their asylum claims and provide biographical data for verification.
Shortly after assuming office in January, President Trump shut down the CBP One app. In addition to launching legal actions to revoke protections for hundreds of thousands of migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela who were granted temporary parole while applying for asylum, his administration has empowered ICE officials to swiftly deport tens of thousands of immigrants who were granted legal entry to the United States for a maximum of two years through the CBP One program.
The activity is an extension of their services for immigrants, who frequently attend their churches in large numbers, according to religious leaders. Some places of worship have previously welcomed undocumented immigrants who were in danger of being deported. Faith leaders in Los Angeles have arranged vigils and nonviolent marches before the federal facility in downtown, as well as food drives for immigrants who are scared to leave their homes.
Clergy have distributed Know Your Rights cards in grape farms around the Inland Empire.
According to Joseph Tom Mckellar, executive director of PICO California, the state’s biggest religion-based community organizing network, clergy, faith leaders, and spiritual leaders have been instrumental in bending the arc toward moral fairness throughout history and around the world. When they execute it correctly, they provide room for others to follow suit.
In order to increase efforts to accompany migrants to their hearings, the Catholic Diocese of San Diego contacted local clergy on June 11.
Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish’s Father Scott Santarosa said the letter attracted so much attention that they had to restrict the number of clergy members who could attend. They attended a Mass that Friday, which was also World Refugee Day, before going to immigration court.
We had no intention of blocking, obstructing, or otherwise interfering. We simply intended to be there, observe, and let the migrants and refugees know that they are not alone.
A hearing with her children was set for early June in L.A. County for a Venezuelan asylum seeker who requested anonymity due to fear of reprisals if she is sent back to her homeland. She entered the country via the CBP One app and landed in the United States in December. Her first hearing would be in June.
She pondered whether to go to her hearing because she was aware that she could be deported. A clergyman in the region offered to accompany her after she confided in him about her anxieties. She showed up to court with three pastors and a translator on the morning of her hearing. She claimed that when the judge gave her permission to leave and granted a future court hearing, she felt safe.
She claimed that everything went smoothly. I believe it was due to the Christian support I was receiving at the time.
Cook, Orange County’s Unitarian Universalist preacher, said he goes to court at least twice a week.
At first, ICE officers appeared reluctant to address religious leaders and occasionally left the courthouse when church representatives showed there.
However, Cook claimed that the agents had been increasingly combative over time, ordering clergy to maintain a 10-foot distance from them. When a church member attempted to escort an immigrant out of court, he claimed to have seen one ICE agent force her against the wall.
According to him, they have continued because they believe the effort is significant and consistent with their religious mission.
Cook stated outside a courtroom near ICE authorities, “What we are is conscience on display for these folks, and if that triggers shame or reflection, that’s a good thing.”
After a Central American couple he was escorting was taken away and arrested in front of their child, Dave Gibbons, the founder of the Newsong Church in Santa Ana, said he decided to take a vacation from court appearances. As he described the incident to his congregation, he started crying. He was determined to go back, though.
“We think it’s central to the gospel,” Gibbons stated. Standing with those who are marginalized is the most holy thing there is.
Orange County community preacher Rev. Terry LePage has been in immigration hearings almost every day. She spent Friday morning distributing flyers alerting migrants who were going to hearings about their rights and alerting them to the presence of ICE agents.
Clergy members met a Haitian man who had been temporarily granted protected status during the Biden administration that morning. He didn’t have a lawyer when he showed up for his asylum hearing. He carried his papers in a black case and wore a clean white shirt.
Clergy leaders advised him to get in touch with his family and inform them that he could be in custody. The Spanish-speaking man, however, was confident that he would be permitted to go back home.
Despite the migrant’s appeals, the judge allowed the Department of Homeland Security lawyer’s request to have the man’s case dismissed inside the courtroom. Orange County chaplain Thomas Crisp, who was seated in the crowd, observed in shock and gave some final consolation: May God bless you.
Before being surrounded by federal officials and led down an emergency exit stairs, the Haitian guy had traveled two steps out of the courthouse.
This piece examines the difficulties faced by low-income workers and the initiatives being taken to close California’s economic gap as part of The Times’ equity reporting initiative, which is supported by the James Irvine Foundation.
