By Dakota Antelman — [email protected]
In a meeting meant to focus on upcoming Concord250 events, the conversation between police and local faith leaders drifted to immigration.
Rev. Dave O’Leary, pastor at the Concord-Carlisle Catholic Collaborative, said officials assured clergy that they do not ask about people’s immigration status and are “only going to enforce local laws.”
With reassurance from the police, O’Leary said he is “not worried about anything.” Changing national immigration policy under President Donald Trump has been a topic of discussion in O’Leary’s parishes, though. Elsewhere in Concord, other houses of worship are also discussing the topic while recommitting to their values.
“We would be welcoming to all people,” O’Leary said. “We never ask [for] people’s identification. We never ask for people’s paperwork.”
DHS policy change
Concord police Capt. Brian Goldman said the meeting with faith leaders happened January 29. He confirmed the discussion about immigration took place.
“While we are concerned with enforcing local laws, the message is still that we are not an extension of the federal government,” he said in an email.
Although local police might not be involved, some organizations around the country are bracing for feared immigration raids after a January 21 directive from the Department of Homeland Security gave federal agents the go-ahead to enter once-protected “sensitive areas,” including houses of worship and schools. In Worcester, the city’s public schools told families that staff would allow agents onto campuses only if they had a criminal judicial warrant signed by a federal judge.
The Concord Bridge asked school officials about their policies, including handling a situation where agents wanted to enter school property.
District spokesperson Tom Lucey said in a statement, “Massachusetts law requires that all school districts service all children regardless of immigration status.” He said the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education recently affirmed the guidance.
Both Concord Public Schools and Concord-Carlisle High School “will abide by state law and DESE guidance,” he said.
Federal warrants
At Trinity Episcopal Church, the Rev. Nancy Hagner said staff have begun discussions. She said the church doesn’t have a formal policy about cooperating with federal authorities.
“However, as houses of worship have been sanctuary spaces for well over 1,000 years, I would not turn anyone away who showed up at our doors seeking safety,” Hagner said in an email.
Like the Worcester schools, Hagner said the church has been advised that it does not have to let ICE onto its property without a warrant signed by a judge.
Trinitarian Congregational Church has a similar policy, according to senior minister Rev. Rebecca Floyd Marshall, who said federal agents won’t be allowed to enter, collect information, or attempt to locate church community members without a warrant.
Marshall said TriCon has not and will not gather or disseminate information on community members’ immigration status. She said the church will “joyfully welcome all people who would seek to worship God, participate in our programs, or use our building.”
“We will continue to live out our Christian faith by advocating for immigrants and refugees, adjusting to respond to the needs of these neighbors and beloved children of God in real time as they emerge,” Marshall said.
Sanctuary spaces
Some congregations in New England have positioned themselves as sanctuary spaces, offering to house people seeking shelter from deportation.
West Concord Union Church youth director and adult enrichment coordinator Joyce DeGreeff said her church lacks the facilities to support people in this way.
However, she said the church’s welcome statement “is fully inclusive of all people, especially those most marginalized in our society.” The church will welcome people regardless of their immigration status, DeGreeff said.
‘Dignity and compassion’
At Kerem Shalom, president David Luberoff said the synagogue has a “longstanding commitment to supporting immigrants and speaking out in support of policies and practices that treat everyone, including immigrants, with dignity and compassion.”
Luberoff said this commitment is rooted in faith and history.
“As American Jews,” he said, “we are acutely aware that in the 1930s, European Jews were refused entry into the U.S. and sent back to almost certain death in Nazi-controlled parts of Europe.”
Luberoff said he could not speculate how Kerem Shalom would respond to hypothetical requests and queries from the federal government. But he said the response “would be guided by our values and our sense of history.”
He said the congregation’s values and history will also inform efforts to support immigrants and speak out on their behalf.
‘A fundamental right’
Asked whether his churches would share information with federal immigration agents, O’Leary said membership information is privileged.
“I can’t say who is a parishioner,” he said. “People’s worship is supposed to be a fundamental right.”
As he watches current events, he said he feels bad for people who worry about going to church, school, or work. He said he’s proud of his parishes’ work with immigrants, including those at the state-run emergency shelter on Elm Street.
With some immigrants facing new threats, O’Leary said he and his parishioners will continue following scripture that calls on them to feed the hungry and give to the poor.
“I think it goes right back to Jesus what we’re supposed to be doing,” he said.
