Widespread immigration raids that began in Southern California in June, including arrests made on two parish properties in the diocese, prompted an emphatic response from Bishop Alberto Rojas in support of local immigrants.
In a June 23 statement, Bishop Rojas called on “all political leaders and decision-makers” to halt the raids and enforcement tactics targeting Hispanics and other ethnic groups.
“We are now seeing agents detain people as they leave their homes, in their places of work and other randomly chosen public settings,” the bishop’s statement reads. “I say once again to our immigrant communities who are bearing the trauma and injustice of these tactics that your Church walks with you and supports you.”
The statement was to be read in all the parishes of the diocese and/or published in parish bulletins the following weekend.
Just days before the statement was released two separate enforcement actions took place on parish properties. Several men were apprehended in the parking lot of St. Adelaide parish in Highland, resulting in arrests. The men had been working in the area and apparently had no connection to the parish. That same day, at Our Lady of Lourdes parish in Montclair, a man was arrested on church property while performing landscaping work. A longtime member of the parish, he was arrested and ultimately sent to an immigration detention facility in Texas.
Word of the arrests and constant reports of raids throughout Southern California has had a palpable effect on the parishes of the diocese, with attendance of Spanish language Masses down by at least 50 percent. In response to fears expressed to him personally by many parishioners he encountered during Masses, and on the advice of his Vicars and Canonical experts, Bishop Rojas issued a decree on July 8 granting a dispensation from the obligation to attend weekly Mass for those experiencing “genuine fear of immigration enforcement.”
“Acknowledging that such fear constitutes a grave inconvenience that may impede the spiritual good of the faithful, I hereby decree…” reads the document.
In addition to offering the Mass dispensation, in his decree Bishop Rojas encourages those who choose not to attend Mass to pursue alternative spiritual practices to remain engaged in their faith, including praying the Rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet, reading scripture and viewing online Masses. He also calls on parish priests and pastoral ministers to provide “compassionate support to those affected by this fear,” and to explore alternative means of catechesis and sacramental preparation for those who remain at home. In response, the Department of Ministry Formation Institute (MFI) of the diocese has already issued resources for home-based catechesis.
The diocese last granted a dispensation from the obligation to attend weekly Mass during the COVID-19 pandemic for those who were elderly or had pre-existing health conditions. Bishop Rojas’ decree is the first by a California diocese in response to the immigration raids and the second in the nation. The move has attracted international media attention and an outpouring of thanks from immigrant communities and their advocates.
Following the November 2024 election of President Donald Trump, who promised the immigration crackdown during his campaign, Bishop Rojas has publicly expressed the solidarity and support of the Church for communities that would become targets for immigration enforcement. He first communicated his pastoral closeness to immigrants in a December video message. In April, he led an Interfaith Immigration March through the streets of downtown Riverside.
Bishop Rojas has stated that the diocese does not encourage illegal entry into the country and that he is supportive of removing those without documentation who have committed violent crimes and threatened public safety after entering the United States. His concern is the large numbers of people who do not fall into that category who are being swept up in the ICE raids.
“The immigrant communities that I speak of are all those peoples who have been in this country for years with no other issues than their legal status, who have contributed to the well-being of the larger community,” Bishop Rojas said in a media statement following his July 8 decree. “Most of them are here because they wanted to save their families; they had no other option. I believe that they would love to be legalized, but who can help them?”
Immigration raids make painful impact in the diocese
The staff at St. Adelaide could hardly believe their eyes when they looked out the front window of the parish office to see ICE agents chasing a group of landscaping workers through their parking lot on June 20, ultimately arresting them.
That same day a longtime parishioner of Our Lady of Lourdes in Montclair was arrested at the parish as he did his landscaping work there. He and his family have been active in the parish for more than a decade, participating in religious education and altar serving ministries, among others. His oldest son served in the Army National Guard for 12 years.
“My dad is a hard worker, he’s always been honest,” said his oldest son, whose name is being withheld to protect the privacy and safety of the family. “He raised me to love my country. He’s the main reason I joined the military.”
Other than being in the country without documentation, the Montclair man has no criminal convictions of any kind on his record. While the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has continued to state that removing violent criminals is the focus of the raids, statistics released by ICE in early July showed that 71 percent of those arrested in the immigration sweeps had no prior criminal convictions.
Bishop Alberto Rojas in a June 23 statement criticized the raids as “seizing brothers and sisters indiscriminately.” Even a local parish pastor may have been caught up in the random nature of current immigration enforcement. Father Gerald Vidad, pastor of St. Anthony Parish in Upland, was followed and pulled over by an unmarked car in front of the rectory where he lives. An officer wearing a brown uniform and a mask asked him questions about his residence from the vehicle intercom. When Fr. Vidad offered his passport, the vehicle promptly left the scene, Fr. Vidad said.
“I was a little bit afraid,” said Fr. Vidad. “Probably the way I look, they suspected I was undocumented.”
Feelings of fear, anxiety and persecution have been widespread at Our Lady of Soledad parish in Coachella, says Father Francisco Gomez, S.T., pastor. He added that he believes the stress of the immigration raids can lead to increases in alcohol and drug abuse, domestic violence and even suicide.
“People are afraid to go to school, families are afraid to go to the grocery store,” he said. “The fear is incredible.”
In response, Our Lady of Soledad has been holding prayer vigils on the third and fourth Mondays of each month and begun a new ministry to deliver groceries to those who are afraid to go out in public to shop for food.
Bishop Rojas’ statement was to be read at weekend Masses June 28-29. Some priests, including Our Lady of Lourdes Pastor, Father Clarence Saldua, MS, addressed the issue in their homily. He acknowledges the response from parishioners was mixed, with some drawing strength and support and others telling him it was not a subject the Church should address.
“It’s not a political stand,” Fr. Saldua says in response. “All of us should be united in protecting those who are most vulnerable.”
Father Elmer Galiza, MS, Pastor of St. Paul the Apostle in Chino Hills, has encountered similar mixed reaction since the reading of the statement.
“I always tell them; our disagreements shouldn’t tear us apart as the Body of Christ but would lead us to a deeper understanding and acceptance of one another.”