Amid a wave of arrests and apprehensions of undocumented immigrants, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles announced plans to bolster delivery of hot meals, groceries and prescription medicines to parishioners living in fear of deportation amid ongoing enforcement raids.
The archdiocese’s donation-funded Family Assistance Program seeks to assist some of its 4 million congregants throughout its 288 parishes in Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.
Immigrants targeted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids are “good, hard-working men and women” who are “making important contributions to our economy,” Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez said in a statement.
“Now they are afraid to go to work or be seen in public for fear that they will get arrested and be deported,” he said.
Money donated directly to the Family Assistance Program will be funneled to parishes with vulnerable members. Donations can be made online or at a local church.
Catherine Fraser, the archdiocese’s chief development officer, said every dollar contributed would go directly to helping families in need.
Most churches already have programs to serve elderly and homebound congregants that were developed during the interruptions and limitations of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Yannina Diaz, a spokesperson for the archdiocese.
“We’re tapping into what already exists and what already works,” Diaz said.
Diaz noted that St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in South L.A. boasts a robust program that helps with food, clothing and medicine delivery for homebound individuals.
That church’s pastor, Msgr. Timothy Dyer, helped come up with the Family Assistance Program.
At St. Agatha Catholic Church in Los Angeles, volunteer Azalie Nickleberry founded the St. Agatha’s Hands Are Reaching Everywhere, or SHARE, program.
The ministry opened in 1980, providing hot meals on Christmas Day, and serves around 2,000 people annually.
SHARE typically provides 70 to 80 bags of groceries — containing cereal, pancake mix, canned goods and pasta — to clients monthly. So far in July, that number has already shot up to 150.
“There’s a real need for this service, and we’re happy for the help,” Nickleberry said.
About 2,800 undocumented immigrants have been arrested since ICE began conducting widespread raids in Los Angeles in early June.
Those arrests have included hundreds of undocumented immigrants without any criminal record. Some U.S. citizens and immigrants with legal status have also been detained.
Many members of the Greater Los Angeles Catholic community are immigrants or have family members who were born outside of the United States, leaving the archdiocese particularly exposed to the raids’ impacts.
About 58% of people living in the United States who were born abroad consider themselves Christian, according to findings from the Pew Research Center. Of those, 30% identified as Catholics, the largest share of any denomination.
In Los Angeles, 28% of all Christians consider themselves Catholic, the highest of any denomination by 12 percentage points, according to Pew.
Gomez’s announcement of the assistance program comes after Bishop Alberto Rojas of the Diocese of San Bernardino issued a dispensation allowing parishioners fearful of deportations to stay home rather than attend Mass.
Rojas’ decision followed a series of arrests on church property, though the Department of Homeland Security insisted that churches were not targeted — saying those apprehended had fled onto parish grounds.
Diaz said she was unaware of any arrests made on Archdiocese of Los Angeles property. She also said Gomez was not considering issuing a dispensation for its congregants.
She said she was uncertain if parishes were offering Eucharistic Communion — vital for a Roman Catholic service — to those too afraid to leave their homes.
In an open letter, Gomez wrote that he was “deeply disturbed” by the detentions and called on the government to reform the immigration process.
As for the Family Assistance Program, it’s already received its share of donations.
Businessman Rick Caruso, a former mayoral candidate, donated $50,000 and offered to match another $50,000 in contributions.
“We need to help these families and, working with the archdiocese, we can provide much needed relief at a time when many are struggling to get by,” Caruso said in a statement.
The Catholic Assn. for Latino Leadership has donated $10,000, while Vallarta Supermarkets contributed $10,000 in gift cards.
The Beverly Hills Teddy Bear Company donated an undisclosed amount, along with stuffed animals for children coping with raids, according to the archdiocese.
