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Faith leaders tell City Council ICE raids have cut Mass attendance, driven self-deportation
Summary
Faith leaders and organizers told the Los Angeles City Council that immigration enforcement raids this summer have reduced worship attendance by 30–40%, forced some parishioners to self-deport and drained parish legal funds, and urged the council to support community "Freedom Schools" and local documentation of impacts.
Faith leaders and community organizers told the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday that the June 2025 round of immigration enforcement raids has terrorized congregations across Los Angeles and reduced participation in religious services by roughly 30–40 percent.
Robert Hu, lead organizer for 1 LA IAF, told the council the raids, and the military and federal deployments that followed, “have terrorized families and communities across Southern California,” and urged the city to document local impacts and partner with congregations.
The testimony included detailed accounts from clergy and lay leaders about how the raids have affected daily religious life and church finances. Father Joey Evangelista, associate pastor at Precious Blood and St. Kevin Catholic churches, said the parishes have seen “attendance has gone down from 40% to 50%” and that three parishioners he knows have…
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