As sightings of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents grow, local religious leaders face new concerns as their communities try to worship freely and safely.
According to a report by the Washington State Standard, in late summer and early fall of last year, the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown intensified in Washington.
The number of people held in detention on any given day by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, has increased by over 75% during the first year of President Donald Trump's administration, according to the American Immigration Council.
“It’s very important to us that people are able to worship and celebrate their cultural holidays and that those not be targets of immigration enforcement activity,” said Rachael Pashkowski, who works with Wenatchee for Immigrant Justice, an immigrant rights organization.
Last December, she received reports from community members that ICE vehicles were parked outside churches in Wenatchee.
Wenatchee for Immigrant Justice’s rapid response team found no ICE agents at local churches. The organization sent volunteers out to churches to monitor the areas outside and ensure people could worship in peace during a popular holiday, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The holiday is celebrated across Latin America and commemorates the Virgin Mary’s appearance to an indigenous peasant in Mexico.
”If immigration was there, which we did not verify, the threat of immigration enforcement would prevent people from worshiping,” Pashkowski said.
The day is marked by colorful and festive traditions. Many parishes hold Las Mañanitas — which translates to "The Little Mornings" in English — an overnight celebration where people gather late into the evening and into the early morning to serenade Our Lady of Guadalupe with a traditional Mexican birthday song.
In Wenatchee, some congregations began services as late as 11 p.m., with celebrations continuing into the morning. Some churches also invite mariachi bands to help usher in the feast.
Kevin Brown is a graduate program director and lecturer of religious studies at Gonzaga University. He said following the Trump administration’s move to remove protections against immigration enforcement for certain locations like churches and schools, some Catholic churches have asked community members who may be of mixed documentation status to avoid coming to church at all. He said this has put a burden on churches and leaders who feel challenged on how they can best serve their communities.
Under previous presidential administrations, churches, schools and hospitals were classified as “sensitive” locations where the Department of Homeland Security was discouraged from carrying out enforcement actions. Protections were meant to preserve access to basic services and prevent families from avoiding schools, hospitals and places of worship out of fear. The Trump administration then eliminated protections for sensitive locations last year.
“I’ve heard from friends and through local networks (that) some churches began locking the doors about five minutes after the start of a service for fear that ICE or customs and border enforcement might interrupt a service,” Brown said. “(It’s a) practice that I’ve heard about across the country, not just locally here, not just in California, but something that communities have been doing all over.”
How religious groups are mobilizing
North Central Washington religious leaders are trying to calm fears about immigration enforcement and make plans in case enforcement does happen at church.
Thomas Perchlik is a reverend at Cascade Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. He and other religious leaders have put signs on church doors telling ICE agents they need a warrant before they enter.
“We put those signs on every single door as a way of telling everyone who came in here that we’re the kind of place that would stand for you,” Perchlik said.
Mike Rumley Wells is a pastor at Wenatchee Brethren Baptist Church. Rumley Wells and Perchlik are also part of the Interfaith Justice Coalition of North Central Washington, an organization focused on sharing and building relationships across different faith organizations.
The group holds meetings and discusses how to respond to injustice in the valley. In the group, religious leaders organize different ways to mobilize, including de-escalation training, sharing information on local protests and resources on how to volunteer for different organizations, like Wenatchee for Immigrant Justice’s rapid response teams.
Rumley Wells said he is concerned the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis could happen in Washington state.
"What we’re seeing in Minneapolis doesn’t feel far away. Feels like it could be in Portland tomorrow, in Wenatchee the next day. We’re trying to not just react, but be proactively prepared," he said.
This story is part of a series focusing on immigration and religion. The series is being co-published by the Tri-City Herald, The Wenatchee World and Northwest Public Broadcasting with the Murrow News Fellowship.
