From RNS:
The first weekend after President Donald Trump demanded federalization of the police force in Washington, D.C., and deployed National Guard troops on its streets, faith leaders of the area’s immigrant churches described lower than average attendance, anxious WhatsApp groups and escalating fears as word of detentions reached their parishioners.
On Sunday (Aug. 17), an usher for the evening Mass at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Washington’s Columbia Heights neighborhood was detained by federal officials just three blocks away from the church while walking to worship.
According to the Rev. Emilio Biosca Agüero, a Capuchin Franciscan and pastor at the church, the man is one of about seven parishioners currently in detention, including a man in marriage preparation and another in confirmation class. Some, he said, had been detained on their way to the church for catechetical classes over the past few weeks.
The parish’s WhatsApp chats have been filled with immigration agent sightings and warnings to parish members, the priest said.
On Friday, two men were detained outside Sacred Heart Catholic School, associated with the parish. While neither of the men were parishioners, their arrests were shared on Facebook, and that night only slightly over 200 people attended the parish’s ecumenical celebration honoring Salvadoran St. Óscar Romero — a service that would typically attract hundreds more.
“The people who participate at Sacred Heart are hardworking, resilient, law-abiding and devout, placing their trust in God and hoping that U.S. laws will take into account their contribution to improving this country,” Biosca said of his parish, where each weekend, there are six Spanish Masses, two English Masses and a Mass each in Portuguese, Vietnamese and Haitian Creole.
Concern had been growing even before the federal takeover, according to Biosca. He estimated that Mass attendance the past two weekends has fallen about 20%, from a typical level of 2,500 people to fewer than 2,000.
A number of D.C.-area faith leaders who, like Biosca, serve immigrant-heavy congregations told RNS there is a growing sense of foreboding, fear and outrage among their communities as masked federal agents and uniformed soldiers have become a regular sight on the streets.
