Evangelical pastors who once helped deliver Donald Trump a crucial slice of the conservative vote are now openly blasting his administration's immigration crackdown after enforcement actions reached into houses of worship. In Brooklyn and other cities, clergy say the raids are terrorizing immigrant congregations, draining pews and forcing churches to rethink weekday programs and outreach that used to feel routine.
Deacon detained in Bensonhurst
In mid-January, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained Sebastian Renoj Barreno, a deacon and longtime secretary at Iglesia Jóvenes Cristianos in Bensonhurst, outside his home, leaving the small Guatemalan congregation shaken. As reported by BK Reader, Pastor Erick Salgado and City Councilmember Susan Zhuang said Barreno has served the church for about 18 years and that community members are now fielding repeated calls about ICE activity. Local leaders say Barreno is being held in a New Jersey detention center and that the raid has sown fear among parishioners who worship in Spanish and Mayan languages.
Evangelical leaders push back
The arrests have triggered an unusual public rebuke from parts of the evangelical world that backed Mr. Trump. Clergy who once defended tougher enforcement are now criticizing actions that reach into sanctuaries and church communities. "You're deporting the future of American Christianity," a Latino evangelical leader warned, as reported by NBC News, capturing a growing fear that mass deportations could hollow out congregations that rely on immigrant members for their spiritual and numerical vitality.
Local fallout and shrinking pews
Faith leaders say the fallout is already visible in the pews. Attendance has dipped, some programs are being scaled back and congregations are weighing whether to shift service times or add remote options so families will not risk exposure to enforcement operations on the way to worship. As Religion News Service reported, clergy and researchers warn that deporting large numbers of immigrants could erode the long-term strength of churches that depend on those communities to stay alive and grow.
Protests, courts and a new front
The conflict has now moved from the sanctuary to the streets and the courts. Federal authorities have arrested some activists after an anti-ICE demonstration disrupted a service at Cities Church in St. Paul, according to the Associated Press, and the episode prompted a Justice Department probe. At the same time, a federal judge granted an injunction on March 20 allowing clergy to visit detainees at an ICE holding facility in Minneapolis, illustrating how faith groups and the courts have become central battlegrounds in the dispute, per the Washington Post.
Why pastors say it matters to the church
Many evangelical denominations, and the broader American church, have been replenished by immigrant worshippers in recent decades, giving a demographic edge to congregations that welcome newcomers. Local reporting and religious press coverage note that churches like Iglesia Jóvenes Cristianos serve as cultural anchors for Mayan- and Spanish-speaking families, which makes enforcement actions at or near worship settings both a pastoral crisis and an existential test for ministers. For background on how immigrant-led congregations sustain worship and language communities in New York, see Christianity Today.
For now, pastors in Brooklyn and elsewhere say they are scrambling to protect congregants by offering legal referrals, shifting programming and pressing elected officials for answers, even as many wrestle with the political reality that helped put this enforcement surge in place. The result, clergy warn, is a reshuffling of loyalties and priorities inside houses of worship that once strongly backed the administration, a shift playing out in both national and local reporting.
