ICE Should Respect the Sanctity of Churches

Trust is a powerful word. It involves relying on someone to be honest and reliable. It becomes a belief in a person’s character and actions. Trust is crucial for building and maintaining healthy relationships. Therefore, the so-called “blue wall of silence” can never be taken lightly, as it undermines the critical level of trust between law enforcement agents and the public they are sworn to protect. This unofficial and unwritten rule encourages police officers not to report on a colleague’s errors, misconduct, or illegal activity.

While certain officers have proven trustworthy and refused to be a brick in that blue wall, the wall of silence can tarnish the reputation of an entire department where good officers are guilty by association in the eyes of a frustrated and fearful community. This feeling of mistrust has no boundaries. It applies to law enforcement officers regardless of race. It applies to members of local and state police departments. The desire for law enforcement officials to continue to protect each other from misconduct hinders accountability. As a result, we live in a never-ending pattern of cruelty that transcends generations. Police brutality and corruption targeting communities of color will always be a timeless stain on American history.

In a matter of hours after President Trump’s inauguration, the new administration revoked a Biden-era policy that prohibited arrests at places deemed to be “sensitive locations.” The previous policy, signed by former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, instructed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to refrain from apprehending unauthorized immigrants at or near locations “that would restrain people’s access to essential services or engagement in essential activities.”

Those sensitive locations included schools, courthouses, places of worship, hospitals, healthcare facilities, shelters, and relief centers. By revoking a policy intended to prevent intimidation, the reversal of these protections has left immigrant communities vulnerable to enforcement actions in spaces where they should generally feel safe. This shift has already created an environment of fear and uncertainty, discouraging individuals from seeking medical care, pursuing education, accessing legal resources, or engaging with law enforcement.

In a statement defending the termination of the Biden administration rule, the Department of Homeland Security said the Trump administration “will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense.” In a separate presidential executive order, officials are directed to increase agreements with local police authorities so they can arrest and detain unauthorized immigrants as deputized immigration officers. Knowing that a “blue wall of silence” exists, can we truly trust that ICE and local police officers can work together to use common sense in every situation and hold each other accountable? Can we trust that their decisions and behavior will be fair and unbiased regarding children attending school or a family going to a place of worship?

The new DHS policy gives authority to enter any house of worship nationwide. It allows field agents to use “common sense” and “discretion” to conduct immigration enforcement operations at houses of worship without a supervisor’s approval. Any house of worship in any community is a holy space, and its sanctity should always be respected. Having ICE and deputized local police officers to disrupt a house of worship in any manner violates the reverence and peace it rightfully deserves. A house of worship provides individuals with spiritual support, encouragement, and guidance at a time when many people are living in fear. A church is a refuge and a safe haven that should always be protected and honored. This place of refuge should never be under the threat of being taken away when people become afraid to attend church in person. There were specific reasons the previous policy was in place. Latino ministry leaders say they have never seen such elevated fear and caution within churches. They attribute much of it to the administration’s decision to allow immigration enforcement in churches.

Drawn by Donald Trump’s messages on the economy and traditional stances on issues like abortion and sexuality, Latino evangelicals overwhelmingly supported him during the 2024 presidential election. Some Latino pastors now feel betrayed by the federal government’s harsh enforcement efforts. Agustin Quiles heads an advocacy organization for Latino evangelicals in Florida, and he has been monitoring the anxiety of pastors throughout his state. He hears the unease of pastors who are worried about youth who don’t want to go to school out of fear that immigration agents might intercept them. He hears pastors say that another family stopped going to church because it was no longer safe. For several years, Quiles led church leaders on trips to Montgomery, Alabama, to study the Civil Rights Movement and the nation’s dark history of white supremacy.

“I never lived that,” Quiles said. “But it feels like they are trying to go back to those times where you would lynch anyone for any given reason. Is that the same spirit? Is that the same sin that we’ve never dealt with, where we have an obsession with just automatically adding the death penalty to someone who is undocumented?” The answer to Quiles’ question is yes. It is the same spirit and the same sin that has terrorized Blacks for generations. So, what will Latino evangelicals do once the dots are connected?

David W. Marshall is the founder of the faith-based organization TRB: The Reconciled Body and author of the book God Bless Our Divided America.