How San Diego bishops and clergy showed up in immigration court -- and made an impact

(OSV News) -- Amid the Trump administration's crackdowns on unauthorized immigration -- which have included daily arrest quotas -- a clergy visit to immigration court in San Diego was a way to show "God is with us," and "he never abandons us," a San Diego priest told OSV News.
Jesuit Father Scott Santarosa, pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in San Diego, was a lead organizer for a June 20 interfaith witness at the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Building in that city, the location of both an Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, field office and the Department of Justice's San Diego Immigration Court.

The visit -- coordinated with Dinora Reyna-Gutierrez, executive director of the San Diego Organizing Project -- was scheduled as part of a diocesan observance of World Refugee Day, which has been globally marked on June 20 since 2001. Established by the United Nations General Assembly, the day was initially launched to commemorate the anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention.

Along with Father Santarosa, the dozen or so clergy at the courthouse included San Diego Bishop Michael M. Pham, who was born in Vietnam and fled to the U.S. as a 13-year-old refugee in 1980, along with his older sister and younger brother. Thanks to the sponsorship of an American family, the future bishop, his siblings and parents eventually reunited, relocating to San Diego in 1985.

Also on hand were San Diego Auxiliary Bishop Ramón Bejarano, a Texas native who spent part of his childhood in Mexico, and fellow Auxiliary Bishop Felipe Pulido, a Mexican native who came as a teen to the U.S. with his family.

Prior to the court visit, faithful gathered for a morning Mass at St. Joseph Cathedral in San Diego, with Bishop Pham presiding and up to 300 people in attendance, according to Father Santarosa.

Only "a small delegation" of clergy headed to the federal building afterwards, he said, with a goal of being "able to sit in the courtrooms of different migrants and hear their cases and then accompany them out."

"Our mission was to just witness what goes on, be present, and sort of communicate, 'We are with you folks whose cases are being heard. We see you. You're not lost on us. You're not lost on God, and we walk with you,'" said Father Santarosa.

As a result of the clergy visit -- which was not intended to hinder immigration court proceedings -- "a couple of things happened," said the priest.

"I was told by people who go there regularly that upon our arrival, all the ICE agents sort of scampered. That's what Bishop Pham said," Father Santarosa said. "They all kind of scampered away and disappeared. Someone also told me that the ICE agents presented the paperwork for the people they were going after, but they didn't stick around to get them because of our presence."

In addition, he said, "I was also told that the way the courtroom was managed by the judge was different because of our presence."

He witnessed two cases, both of which were "continued," a legal term meaning "postponed."

"In one of those cases, the lawyer said to me that our presence made a difference," Father Santarosa said. "So the good news is while we were there, no one got detained or deported. And it wasn't because we were trying to interrupt the court. We just were present."

The clergy's visit followed recent messages of support for migrants and refugees issued by Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, chair of the USCCB's Committee on Migration; and Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami, Florida.

"I feel like the Spirit was really the one that wanted this to happen," said Father Santarosa. "We're all members of the body of Christ. We all belong. There are no documents needed."