(RNS) — When the Rev. Tanya Lopez talks about the day in June when she had to confront masked agents in her church parking lot, she focuses on the man they detained. As the pastor of Downey Memorial Christian Church near Los Angeles, California, she said her primary concern was the person being taken away by the apparent federal immigration agents, though they declined to identify what agency they worked for.
But the fact that agents felt comfortable apprehending a man on church property — and were willing, Lopez says, to raise a weapon at her even after she identified herself as a pastor — left her shaken.
“This is domestic terror, in my opinion,” Lopez told Religion News Service in June. “I don’t feel safe. I still have to show up at church on Sunday. I still have to lead worship.”
It’s a sentiment shared by a growing number of faith leaders and the communities they serve, as President Donald Trump has enacted a massive immigration crackdown over the past few months, resulting in thousands of detentions and deportations across the country. For many immigrant-heavy congregations, the risk has been amplified by the administration’s decision to rescind a long-standing internal government policy of avoiding immigration raids at “sensitive locations” such as houses of worship.
RNS has identified at least 10 instances of apparent immigrati …