{"id":27788,"date":"2025-06-13T16:29:54","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T20:29:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=27788"},"modified":"2025-06-13T16:29:54","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T20:29:54","slug":"u-s-immigration-detains-man-outside-southern-california-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2025\/06\/u-s-immigration-detains-man-outside-southern-california-church","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Immigration Detains Man Outside Southern California Church"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NBC LA \/ Facebook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When federal agents dragged an unidentified Spanish-speaking man from a bench outside Downey Memorial Christian Church this week, stunned bystanders\u2014including the church\u2019s pastor\u2014tried to intervene. What followed was a clash of conscience and power, as ICE officials, now operating without former protections for \u201csensitive locations,\u201d faced off with faith leaders demanding answers, dignity, and restraint.<\/span><\/p>\n

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security\u2019s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was alerted by Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller that arrests and deportations of unauthorized immigrants were \u201ctoo low” in May.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Reports<\/span> <\/a>show that \u201che berated and threatened to fire senior Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials if they did not begin detaining 3,000 migrants a day.\u201d Additionally, Miller \u201cthreatened to fire leaders of field offices posting the bottom 10% of arrest numbers monthly.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This was the catalyst behind the perceived ICE riots, causing national turmoil and protests today. But not many thought ICE would detain people in churches, as happened in Los Angeles this week.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Outside Downey Memorial Christian Church <\/span>this week<\/span><\/a>, faith leaders held an impromptu press conference to decry a forceful detention of an \u201cunidentified dark-skinned man with dark hair who only spoke Spanish,\u201d according to witnesses. One resident, Paulina Alcala, thought a man sitting on a bench outside the church needed help.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOnce I heard that they were asking for papers, I was like, oh \u2014 this is ICE,\u201d\u00a0 Alcala said Wednesday. \u201c(An agent) called me an illegal and said that I was going to get arrested for getting in the way \u2014 I told them that I am a USA citizen fighting for what is going on right now. The only thing I said to them was he\u2019s just sitting under a tree, and he\u2019s not doing anything. The moment (I said that), they got him up (and) dragged him away.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Members and leaders of the church ran outside to help the man, including senior pastor Tanya Lopez.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey were wearing regular clothing \u2014 one of them was wearing Vans like the ones I\u2019m wearing today. They had a badge across their vest that said police,\u201d Lopez said. \u201cI said where\u2019s your badge number and tell me your name \u2014 and why are you wearing a mask? Police officers don\u2019t have to hide their identity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The raid outside Downey Memorial Christian Church, among many others, <\/span>united over 30 southern California mayors<\/span><\/a> to call for an end to the ICE raids. Among them was Downey Mayor Hector Sosa.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One claim central to <\/span>the many protests in LA<\/span><\/a> and across the nation from local church and political leaders is the decades-old federal policy that prohibited immigration enforcement at \u201csensitive locations\u201d (e.g., schools, hospitals, clinics, churches). The Trump administration <\/span>rescinded that policy<\/span><\/a> in January.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Since then, the harrowing timeline of ICE raids leading to nonviolent and dangerous protests continues to grow.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n