Boston clergy describe immigrant fears ahead of Wu's testimony in D.C.

Boston-area clergy members representing multiple religions this week told Mayor Michelle Wu their congregants are avoiding services amid fears of immigration arrests.

“Throughout the Boston Archdiocese, people are not coming to church — and the fear is real,” said Bishop Mark O’Connell, second in command at the archdiocese.

O'Connell said congregants are worried that federal agents will enter churches and schools or separate families.

The church has heard no actual reports of this happening so far, O'Connell said, "but to react to the fear, I think we have to comfort our people.”

O’Connell spoke during a meeting convened Tuesday by Wu to hear from clergy ahead of her scheduled appearance before a GOP-led House oversight committee in Washington D.C. next week.

Republicans on the congressional panel are expected to grill Wu and fellow Democratic mayors from Chicago, Denver and New York City about so-called sanctuary policies, which limit the role of local police in immigration enforcement to criminal matters. Wu and other leaders argue it’s not Boston’s legal role to enforce federal immigration violations; local police do cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials seeking to detain people involved in serious crimes.

Ahead of the hearing, Wu is checking in with community stakeholders, including immigration advocates and religious leaders. "This has been part of how I've been thinking about getting ready for the chance to speak before Congress," Wu said after the meeting.

Among those who participated was Nicolas Homicil, bishop of Voice of the Gospel Tabernacle in Mattapan. He compared Wu to David taking on the Goliath of Congress. Homicil said he hopes the mayor can share with committee members the impact of the threat of immigration enforcement on congregants. He said religious figures have a role to play as well.

“What we have to do as faith leaders: to pray for [Congress members], for God to open their eyes,” Homicil said. " The poor need to be welcome. The hungry need to be fed. Those who have no place to live, we need to seek a place for them."

The assembled clergy this week said they’re seeing fear among their members — a sentiment being stoked daily by top Trump officials. Over the weekend, border czar Tom Homan threatened he’d be “bringing hell” to Boston in retaliation for the city’s position on assisting ICE.

Pastor Arlene Hall of Deliverance Temple Worship Center in Dorchester said leaders in Boston should instead “bring heaven” in response to Homan’s pledge. She said even people with legal status are afraid they could get swept up by immigration police.

“There are individuals who are citizens of this country that feel that they may be sent back to their country of origin,” Hall said. “And that's one of the realities that we hope that those in Washington will hear.”

Samuel Acevedo, a pastor at Congregation Lion of Judah in the South End, tried to strike a hopeful tone ahead of Wu's trip to the Capitol. He said he'd welcome Trump administration officials to visit Boston.

"Please don't fight Boston," Acevedo said. "Work with us. Dream with us, Mr. President ... Be the president who paved a path of citizenship."

Pew Research polling suggests six in 10 voters think those already living in the U.S. should be allowed to remain, even if they don't currently have legal status. But surveys also show religious people slant more toward Republican policies, while those who don’t identify as religious lean Democratic.

The religious leaders who met with the mayor appeared supportive of the city's welcoming message toward immigrants. But that feeling is far from universal among the faithful.

C.J. Doyle of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts, a conservative lay group that’s been critical of the direction of the church, was not at the meeting.

“ The hierarchy should also be aware that large numbers of Catholics are not invested in resistance to President Trump,” he said.

Doyle is calling for a “compassionate” approach to immigrants, but he said the nation's laws need to be respected.

“A growing number of Catholics are Hispanic in origin, and a growing number of them voted for Donald Trump,” he said. “So you're not finding among Hispanic Catholics an enthusiasm for resistance in the matter of immigration enforcement.”

That resonates with the Rev. Daniel Walker, a minister at  New Bethel Baptist Church in Framingham. Walker supports Trump, and he said Boston could pay a price for not cooperating more with the White House.

“What do I think about what Mayor Wu's doing? She's grandstanding,” Walker said. “This is her shot. And it's not going to work out.”

Wu and the other mayors were asked in late January to testify before the Republican-led oversight committee. Wu agreed to attend after negotiating a slightly later date with the committee because she recently had a baby. The chair of the committee, U.S. Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, called the upcoming hearing "an investigation into the policies of sanctuary jurisdictions," and included a number of unfounded claims in his announcement.

Walker, of Framingham, said he believes people in the country illegally should turn themselves in. Just this week, the White House announced an intent to create a new registry for people here without legal status, threatening misdemeanor prosecution and fines for those who don’t comply.

Walker said he's all for making the United States safer. But as a church leader, he also walks a fine line: He said he wouldn’t shut the church doors on someone seeking help.

“You've asked a church of God, a house of God for sanctuary, so I'm going to do everything I can to defend you, to protect you,” Walker said.

At least, he said, as long as the person at his door is not trying to evade law enforcement.