I hold my mom’s hand as we walk the two blocks to mass, passing the bustling sidewalk market of vendors selling mangoes, tacos, and fruits. Sunday is my favorite day of the week because it means attending mass at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart, where I feel connected to my Catholic community and my faith. Following mass, we have a family breakfast—one of our little traditions.
Now, this is all a distant memory. Due to the Trump administration’s federal military takeover in the District of Columbia, residents of Columbia Heights, the DC neighborhood with the highest percentage of Latino residents, no longer feel safe enough to live their daily lives and practice their faith in peace. As the militant presence dampens the once vibrant neighborhood culture, so too does it destroy the nation’s religious practices. As a neighborhood, Columbia Heights has fallen apart. DC sidewalks are barren where there used to be community gatherings. Masses where people would stand in the back due to a lack of space are now half empty. What used to be a staple in many residents’ lives no longer exists: mass now lacks the culture and livelihood that once defined it. This decline is not restricted to the Shrine of the Sacred Heart, Columbia Heights’ preeminent immigrant parish. Due to the increased threat of deportation and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity, Latinos, regardless of citizenship status, experience immense fear—a feeling that has permeated across immigrant communities nationwide. These neighborhoods’ iconic liveliness is now a bygone era. By targeting citizens and noncitizens alike based on a xenophobic and racist rhetoric, the Trump administration creates a national culture where we forget what it is like to love our neighbors.
As President Donald Trump increases ICE’s presence in DC and nationwide, he has simultaneously quietly ended policies that previously established protected safe spaces, areas where ICE raids were forbidden. During Barack Obama’s presidency, a memo was issued that prevented ICE from conducting activities in “sensitive locations,” including churches and houses of worship. Under a Biden-era policy, churches, hospitals, schools, and more were all considered safe spaces. During Trump’s first administration, this memo maintained validity, which drastically contrasts with his present actions. Neither Obama nor Joe Biden went as far as allowing ICE activity within parishes, even as they also completed millions of deportations throughout their presidencies. Trump’s actions show disregard for the religious freedom that Obama and Biden made sure to respect. When the Department of Homeland Security announced this policy change, they defended it by saying, “criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest.” However, the protected spaces policy does not primarily impact criminals: It impacts hard-working community members who must now reside in fear. The purpose of churches is to worship, so perhaps Trump is saying that worshippers (or certain types of worshippers) are criminals. Clearly, not everyone in the United States is allowed to practice religion equally under this administration. Ultimately, attacking entire communities and preventing the peaceful practice of religion, including gathering for mass, does significantly more harm than good, as this policy only creates fear and anxiety within sacred spaces.
In his Homily at the Mass for the 111th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, Robert Cardinal McElroy, Archbishop of Washington, preached, “Our Catholic community here in Washington has witnessed many people of deep faith, integrity and compassion who have been swept up and deported in the crackdown which has been unleashed in our nation.” When a community feels like they have lost their religious freedom and sense of community, an administration has gone too far in its crackdown on immigration. The Biden administration deported significantly more people than Trump’s first administration did, yet Biden never threatened or attacked places of worship. Historically, religious freedom has always taken priority above deportation goals, but our current administration has now altered that precedent of allowing Americans to practice freely.
Anxiety and fear know no border between undocumented migrants and documented citizens; if ICE raids change engagement for undocumented parishioners, they will change engagement for everyone. Sacred Heart’s strong sense of community can only be restored by prioritizing the assurance that everyone, regardless of documentation status, can freely practice their First Amendment rights. Although Trump’s immigration attacks are actively destroying the sense of community within Sacred Heart, the parish is taking action to support parishioners during these extremely challenging times. We can look to Sacred Heart as guidance in supporting immigrant communities: Even in these difficult times, the parish works tirelessly to support individuals facing deportation. To support community members whose family members have been deported, the parish created a new ministry of service, the Mother Cabrini Ministry, inspired by the Patron Saint of Immigrants. According to the Parish’s bulletin letter from August 30-31, the “ministry seeks to offer special assistance, letters, legal referrals, and attention for those who request it.” Community-based efforts like this are key to combating the harmful practices that only damage the sense of community in different areas nationwide. Trump fears the spirit that composes the backbone of these spaces: The strength and unity that they utilize to support one another demonstrates why the President is so eager to destroy them. Houses of worship across America, while some of the most targeted institutions by the Trump administration, offer immense hope. These communities are resilient and will fight back against his reckless power grabs.
As more people fear leaving their homes and engaging with the Columbia Heights community, I must wonder where America’s priorities lie. Are Americans as a nation going to prioritize hunting hardworking, undocumented migrants at the expense of abandoning citizens’ needs and wants? Are increased ICE deportations worth the cost of changing the very essence that makes America the nation we have thought it to be? My faith tells me to believe that one day, the people will be heard and mass will return to being the joyous celebration of faith that I know it to be. Today, however, I can no longer say this in full confidence: I fear the current path we are on, as I do not envision the return of religious freedom for all if we continue down our current trajectory.