"Sitting in his second-floor office in Our Lady of Guadalupe church in the Barrio Logan district of San Diego, Father Scott Santarosa explained the moral urgency of chronicling in-person what ICE is doing to families around the United States. With a framed poster of murdered El Salvadoran priest Oscar Romero looming over his desk, he told me, "Someone needs to bear witness to the dignity of the people in this incredibly dark moment and dark place.""
"Early in Trump 2.0's war on immigrants, San Diego's Bishop Michael Pham discovered that ICE was less likely to engage in mass arrests of immigrants when clergy members were present. So he decided that clergy would go to the courthouse every day that it was in session, and he put Santarosa in charge of the project known as FAITH -Faithful Accompaniment In Trust & Hope."
Father Scott Santarosa leads a clergy accompaniment program at the federal courthouse in San Diego to protect migrants during ICE check-ins. Clergy and hundreds of volunteers offer solace and accompany immigrants from the elevator to the courtroom to reduce the odds of detention. The program emerged after church leaders found ICE was less likely to carry out mass arrests when clergy were present. Volunteers complete mandatory check-ins while providing visible witness that can deter masked ICE agents. The initiative, named FAITH (Faithful Accompaniment In Trust & Hope), seeks to preserve migrants' dignity amid enforcement risks.
Read at The Nation
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