DC Mass attendance falls after immigration arrests

Sacred Heart parish reported seven arrests of parishioners, including one man who came to the church for marriage preparation and another who was in confirmation class.

Parish priests in Washington, DC reported a sharp decline in Mass attendance and participation in religious education, due to immigrants’ fears of being detained

This followed President Donald Trump’s decision to federalise the city’s police and import National Guard troops from other jurisdictions. The president said this was necessary to combat crime in the US capital, although crime has been declining in the city the past few years and other cities register far higher crime rates.

Fr Emilio Biosca Agüero OFM Cap, parish priest of Sacred Heart Church in Washington, said that seven of his parishioners had been detained including one man who came to the church for marriage preparation and another who was in confirmation class. After two men were detained in front of Sacred Heart’s school, hundreds of people expected for a celebration of St Oscar Romero at the church stayed away, with only 200 attending.  

Sacred Heart is in the heart of Washington’s Columbia Heights neighbourhood, and is home to people of many nationalities. Mass is celebrated each weekend in English, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Spanish and Vietnamese. Biosca said attendance at Masses was down about 20 per cent in recent months, due to concern immigration enforcement agents would arrest them.

A few blocks north of Sacred Heart, the Episcopal Church of St Stephen and the Incarnation announced it was cancelling services after immigration officials were seen monitoring the church’s distribution of food to needy residents.

Informal networks of congregants use WhatsApp to warn each other if they see immigration agents, who often wear no identifying uniform or badge, and some churches have conducted training seminars to teach people how to react if police, immigration agents or National Guard troops confront them, informing them of their rights, and making sure they have contact information for immigration lawyers.

“The people who participate at Sacred Heart are hardworking, resilient, law-abiding and devout, placing their trust in God and hoping that US laws will take into account their contribution to improving this country,” said Fr Biosca.

Immigration arrests shake parishes in Washington, DC

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