ICE May Raid Churches This Christmas

The holiday season normally brings Advent wreaths, children’s choirs, and the quiet warming of community life. But in many Spanish-speaking congregations across the country, the weeks around Thanksgiving and Christmas have instead been marked by a growing sense of alarm.

Families in immigrant churches report hesitating before stepping into worship. Parents worry about bringing their children to Christmas services. The emotional toll has been unmistakable.

This atmosphere of fear did not emerge on its own. It followed a wave of rumors that federal immigration agencies might be preparing holiday-season enforcement in Spanish-language congregations.

Pastors in several New England communities describe the same pattern: individuals presenting themselves as ICE or FBI personnel showed up requesting personal information — names, addresses, attendance lists — about church members. Other congregations received unexpected mailers advertising a CBP mobile app tied to “voluntary self-deportation.” For clergy already trying to calm worried families, these messages only deepened confusion.

Across the country, even unverified warnings have sparked real consequences. A viral audio clip predicting large ICE raids circulated through Atlanta and sent one small Pentecostal church into panic. Nearby congregations canceled gatherings entirely that week.

While many communities first encountered this through rumor, three attorneys inside the Department of Justice say internal briefings have circulated describing possible enforcement at Spanish-language Christian services nationwide. Their concerns intensified after a coordinated series of 81 arrests in Charlotte — including one on church property — raising questions about whether sacred spaces will continue to be respected as places of refuge.

For centuries, churches have been places where those facing danger could breathe freely. Within Christian teaching, sanctuary is as essential as the soil that anchors a forest — a space where life can take root, grow, and heal. When the safety of that space is threatened, the whole ecosystem of trust, community, and spiritual care begins to erode.

As immigrant families move toward Christmas, many carry a sense of vulnerability rather than joy. The season that should remind us of Christ coming to dwell among us — especially among those who are poor, displaced, or seeking shelter — now forces some to weigh the risk of walking through their own church doors.

This moment asks congregations to stand with their brothers and sisters who feel exposed. Advent teaches us that light grows strongest when shared — and no amount of fear can eclipse a community determined to care for one another.