CHURCH IMMIGRATION Protocols and Resources

CARING FOR OUR IMMIGRANT NEIGHBORS

A Message from Rev. Andrew J. Sherman, Rector of St. Gregory’s

“The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the native-born among you; you shall love the alien as yourself…” (Leviticus 19:34)

At St. Gregory’s, we believe that welcoming and caring for immigrants is a sacred calling rooted in scripture and tradition. From Abraham and Sarah’s nomadic journey to the Israelites’ time in Egypt, the Bible reminds us that God’s people have often been strangers in foreign lands. Jesus echoes this call in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, urging us to show compassion across boundaries.

In light of recent changes in immigration laws, we have prayerfully considered how to respond as a congregation. Led by our Senior Warden Bill Lintz and vestry member Cyndi Bloom, a committee has developed a set of protocols to guide our response. These were approved by the vestry in May.

We invite you to review the information below and to contact us with any questions you may have.

In Christ,

Andrew+

A Message from the Right Reverend Peter Eaton, Bishop of Southeast Florida

Message to the Clergy and People

The Feast of Saint Ephraim the Syrian

10 June 2025

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Recently our Presiding Bishop reminded us that, as Christians, we must be guided not by political vagaries, but by the sure and certain knowledge that the kingdom of God is revealed to us in the struggles of those on the margins. Jesus tells us to care for the poor and vulnerable as we would care for him, and we must follow that command.  

We are currently living in a season in which the lives of hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people are being threatened by the ending of, or the prospect of the ending of, Temporary Protected Status, and now by travel bans and restrictions, including people from Venezuela, Honduras, Nicaragua, Cuba, and Haiti.  For us in Southeast Florida, this is not an abstraction; these are our sisters and brothers whom we know and with whom our lives are deeply connected.

For Christians, there are at least four crucial moral issues at stake.

1)   The principal reason for the new travel bans seems to be based on a judgement of the ability of the countries on the list to manage their own administration.  This may well be true. But it is precisely from countries where there is failure of effective government that so many feel compelled to leave for fear of their own lives, livelihoods, families, and futures.  But it is more than this.  There is a judgment being made about people from certain countries to be those who want to import alien ideologies, violent, or criminal behaviours, and a culture of dependence on public handouts.  Certain countries, in other words, are being characterised as “intrinsically” nurseries of violence, instability, or dishonesty.  We know that this is not true:  immigrants do not come to our country to go on the dole.  To punish the innocent because of the inadequacy or even corruption of their governments is to make the victim pay a price that the victim cannot afford, and this ignores the circumstances of destitution and real insecurity from which people are forced to flee.

2)    As we know in our life in South Florida, many of us think of ourselves as being at home in more than one place.  We have friends and family in all the countries that surround us in our part of the Caribbean region, and we are back and forth all the time.  At the very least (and this is only one of its many potential consequences), the current travel ban will divide and isolate family members from each other, and this will only contribute to the inability of people to live a decent, stable human existence.  We know the importance of families, both nuclear and extended, for the well-being of individuals and society, and the effect of the current travel ban will be severe.

3)    The Christian faith has always refused to generalise or characterise entire groups of people.  And the moral tradition stands firmly against any rhetoric or policy that robs individuals of their dignity as those who are made in the image and likeness of God.   The effect of the current policies and processes is both to demean and potentially to criminalise entire populations. And yet one of the chief responsibilities of proper government and the rule of law is the ability to discern and to make appropriate distinctions.  Just government is government that is capable of discrimination between cases, the guarantee that every individual is treated on the same basis of trustful and truthful attention, without prejudice.  Easy fictions about collective guilt, legal shortcuts and evasions, and manipulation of evidence to prove an assumption of guilt without due process are all signs of a profound betrayal of the rule of law.  We are failing in this primary task.  The Roman Catholic Church, which in this area is representative of the Christian moral tradition that we Episcopalians share, articulates the characterisation of undocumented immigrants this way:

Undocumented immigrants present a special concern. Often their presence is considered criminal since they arrive without legal permission. Under the harshest view, undocumented people may be regarded as undeserving of rights or services. This is not the view of Catholic social teaching. The Catholic Church teaches that every person has basic human rights and is entitled to have basic human needs met—food, shelter, clothing, education, and health care. Undocumented persons are particularly vulnerable to exploitation by employers, and they are not able to complain because of the fear of discovery and deportation. Current immigration policy that criminalizes the mere attempt to immigrate and imprisons immigrants who have committed no crime or who have already served a just sentence for a crime is immoral. In the Bible, God promises that our judgment will be based on our treatment of the most vulnerable. Before God we cannot excuse inhumane treatment of certain persons by claiming that their lack of legal status deprives them of rights given by the Creator. 

4)  Lastly, we cannot ignore the climate of fear that the present situation creates unnecessarily for so many.  To govern by fear is to govern in failure.  People who should not be afraid are so terrified that they are not leaving their homes, they are not going to school or work, they are not going to doctors and to hospitals for necessary medical care, they are not attending their places of worship, they are not getting the basic supplies of food and other essentials.  While no one faults any government that needs to deal with criminals, it cannot help even that task by making entire groups so fearful that the genuine and honest efforts that they face in making sustainable lives for themselves begin to unravel.   

The Christian moral tradition reminds us that, while a nation has the right to regulate its borders and establish immigration policies, it also has the obligation to do so with justice and mercy.  At the heart of our present crisis is the persistent inability of successive governments to create a just, equitable, and sustainable immigration system.  This failure continues.  Because of this failure in governing, innocent people suffer dreadfully at every level.  It is naïve to assert that the vast majority of people who are on the move from their native countries are simply on the make.  Most people do not want to leave the countries of their birth and culture.  To be a refugee or a migrant, or to need to emigrate, is first and foremost to be heartbroken, to be compelled by some circumstance that makes one lay aside even the risk and fear of death, and is usually a profound crisis for the individual or family concerned.  Warsan Shire, a Somali poet who now lives in Los Angeles, writes so powerfully in her poem “Home:”

no one leaves home unless

home is the mouth of a shark

you only run for the border

when you see the whole city running as well

you have to understand,

that no-one puts their children in a boat

unless the water is safer than the land.

no one burns their palms

under trains

beneath carriages

no one spends days and nights in the stomach of a truck

feeding on newspaper unless the miles travelled 

means something more than journey.

no one crawls under fences

no one wants to be beaten

pitied

no one chooses refugee camps

or strip searches where your

body is left aching

or prison

no one leaves home until home is a sweaty voice in your ear

saying-

leave,

run away from me now

i dont know what i've become

but i know that anywhere

is safer than here.

It requires very little imagination to be sympathetic to this reality, and it has been the vocation of this nation to be open and responsive to just this kind of experience.

And while this reflection has focussed on the harm of the present situation and its management on individuals and families, which is bad enough, the harm that is being inflicted on the common good of the nation continues to be incalculable and the reasons for it unfathomable.

In our diocese we are looking at ways in which we can collaborate effectively with other groups and organisations in our region to help those whom we know who are caught up in the present confusion.  We have already developed and distributed protocols for dealing with the authorities, which are available on our website and will be updated as necessary www.diosef.org/resource-list. 

Today is the feast of Saint Ephraim the Syrian, a reminder to us that not just our country, but our Church and Christian heritage, is made up of a great tapestry of cultures, ethnicities, experiences, languages, and regional histories.  Saint Ephraim reminds us today that our responsibility is always to be witnesses of the light of God in an age of darkness, and that, however deep the present abyss, we can neither give up our hope or give up the work of the Gospel of which our Presiding Bishop has reminded us so powerfully.

Here is a hymn of Saint Ephraim for the present time:

The Light of the just and joy of the upright is Christ Jesus our Lord.

Begotten of the Father, he manifested himself to us.

He came to rescue us from darkness and to fill us with the radiance of his light.

Day is dawning upon us; the power of darkness is fading away. 

From the true Light there arises for us the light which illumines our darkened eyes.

His glory shines upon the world and enlightens the very depths of the abyss.

Death is annihilated, night has vanished, and the gates of Sheol are broken.

Creatures lying in darkness from ancient times are clothed in light.

The dead arise from the dust and sing because they have a Saviour.

He brings salvation and grants us life. He ascends to his Father on high.

He will return in glorious splendour and shed his light on those gazing upon Him.

Our King comes in majestic glory.

Let us light our lamps and go forth to meet him.

Let us find our joy in him, for he has found joy in us.

He will indeed rejoice us with His marvelous light.

Let us glorify the majesty of the Son and give thanks to the almighty Father

who, in an outpouring of love, sent him to us, to fill us with hope and salvation.

When he manifests himself, the saints awaiting him in weariness and sorrow,

will go forth to meet him with lighted lamps.

The angels and guardians of heaven will rejoice 

in the glory of the just and upright people of earth;

Together crowned with victory,

they will sing hymns and psalms.

Stand up then and be ready!

Give thanks to our King and Saviour,

who will come in great glory to gladden us

with his marvelous light in His kingdom.

Please keep our sisters and brothers who are now affected both by the travel ban and the ending of, or the prospect of the ending of, their Temporary Protected Status, in your prayers.  I encourage all our people to be informed on these issues and to write to your elected officials.  Please also consider contributing to and participating actively in local ministries and agencies that serve immigrant communities directly, especially Catholic Legal Services in Miami and Palm Beach.  Every small act of kindness and generosity makes the love of God real for someone.

With love and prayers,

+Peter

Church Protocols

Church Protocol If US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shows up at St. Gregory’s

Background Information

In 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) made changes to Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti and Venezuela, shortening the designation and extension period for Haiti to 12 months, ending on August 3, 2025, and terminating the 2023 TPS designation for Venezuela effective April 7, 2025, first wave and September 10, 2025, for 2nd wave.  The ending of TPS will affect 1.1 million asylum seekers.

Last week the United States Supreme Court ended another form of legal status for immigrants called Humanitarian Parole.  This is different than TPS and will affect nearly 400,000 immigrants in South Florida from Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela and Nicaragua.  Many of these people have been living in the US for years and many hold crucial jobs in South Florida industries facing labor shortages that include health care, education, hospitality and construction. 

Schools, Churches and Hospitals are no longer off limits to ICE

Immigrants of any status have rights under the 4th and 5th amendments of the Constitution. Fourth Amendment Rights: Immigrants have rights against illegal searches and seizures of property. The only way ICE or other law enforcement can conduct a search is through a legal Judicial Warrant not an administrative warrant. Fifth Amendment: You have the right to remain silent and not answer any questions. 

If anyone is approached by ICE or other Law Enforcement remember: (1) You don’t have to answer questions. (2) You don’t have to consent to a search. (3) Ask if you are free to Go.  In not, ask if you are being detained or arrested.  This is the point you should contact an attorney. 

Alert Hotline: 888-600-5762. You will get an immediate response for emergency legal help from the RAPID RESPONSE ALLIANCE FOR IMMIGRANT SAFETY AND EMPOWERMENT.

ICE must have a judicial warrant to enter private spaces of a church. You may ask to see the warrant before allowing ICE in. A judicial warrant is issued by a court and signed by a judge and describes the location than can be entered with the warrant. It is different from administrative warrants that may be issued by ICE or another federal agency with the name of an individual to be arrested. Your church can refuse to allow ICE access to private areas of the church without a judicial warrant.

No one at your church is required to talk to ICE, give ICE agents any information, or say anything about anyone’s immigration status. Before speaking with ICE you should call an attorney or the Alert Hotline: 888-600-5762

Protocol Resources

Please click the buttons below to view additional resources from the Episcopal Church or to download St. Gregory’s protocol document developed based on the diocese protocols and updated by the St. Gregory’s Vestry.

Immigration Resources from The Episcopal Church in Southeast Florida

• Cover Letter Immigration

• Immigration Resources

• Immigration Resources - SP

• Immigration Resources - FR

• Protocols for Interactions with ICE Authorities

• Protocols for Interactions with ICE Authorities - SP

• Protocols for Interactions with ICE Authorities - FR

• SAMPLE ICE Warrant

• SAMPLE Judicial Warrant

CONTACT US

Please contact the church representatives listed below or complete the form below for more information.

DESIGNATED CHURCH SPOKESPERSONS:

1.     Father Andrew, Rev. Robyn, Kristen Chaney and Bill Lintz for anywhere on church property.

2.     Kristen Chaney for staff and office volunteers.

3.     Gena Vallee for Meals With Meaning guests and volunteers

4.     Anita Sherman for youth area on second floor

5.     David Cominole and David Rogers for Ushers and Greeters