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Pharr church reacts to new rules for immigration enforcement

Pharr church reacts to new rules for immigration enforcement
3 weeks 4 days 1 hour ago Saturday, January 25 2025 Jan 25, 2025 January 25, 2025 12:17 PM January 25, 2025 in News - Local

A Pharr church is left wondering what will happen next now that a new policy under the Trump Administration removes protections for churches, hospitals and schools when it comes to immigration enforcement.

Pastor Armando Vela is the host of faith-based radio station Radio Poder De Dios 100.7. This radio station is based in Iglesia Poder De Dios, a church that serves people in the area of Las Milpas.

Aside from announcements, education and religious programming, the churches also serve food to this area through the food bank program.

"It's a blessing to provide food to a thousand people in their coverage area," Vela said.

The network of churches he's a part of has a lot of community engagement, but as new rules for immigration enforcement come up, they worry people could now be arrested at church.

Since President Donald Trump took office, the Department of Homeland Security says rules stopping immigration agents from making arrests at hospitals, schools and churches have been rolled back.

At LUPE, the immigrants rights and community organizing group, they say they're preparing.

"It's extremely dehumanizing, and it's outright racist and xenophobic, that's exactly what it is and that's what we're going to call it," LUPE Director of Communications Portia Lopez said.

LUPE says they're hosting Know Your Rights workshops at their four locations across the Rio Grande Valley.

In addition to the policy change with the so-called sensitive areas like churches, now the Department of Homeland Security is also allowing U.S. Marshals, DEA and ATF to investigate and apprehend people who are in the country illegally.

Watch the video above for the full story.

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