We are just a few days into the new presidential administration and changes are coming to immigration.
The Department of Homeland Security said it's removing policies that restricted ice agents' ability to arrest undocumented people near schools, hospitals and churches.
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WATCH HEREImmigration attorney Fernando Dubove doesn't think raids at churches would actually happen.
“Frankly, I think it’s a lot of this is rhetoric,” Dubove said. “It’s a way to try and scare people. I’ve been doing this over 30 years and I haven't seen situations where immigration goes into churches or into schools looking for people.”
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SIGN UP Still, it's a concern for pastor Abner Avila of House of Grace in Grand Prairie.
“I think at the end of the day, it all comes to a matter of getting the right information from the right sources,” Avila said. “This new wave of information has triggered a lot of fear in the minds and in the hearts of our people.”
That's why church leadership is equipping members with accurate information and preparing themselves just in case.
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“If they show up at our door here on any given Sunday, and we pray that that never happens, But if they do, we would ask them for a warrant,” Avila said. “We would ask them for the legality of what they're doing.”
That's the right action for a church or anybody concerned about their status according to Dubove.
“Immigration cannot go into anybody's house without an arrest warrant or a search warrant,” Dubove said. “They're the same as the police. You can't just go raid a church or any other place without having probable cause and an arrest warrant and a search warrant to go in there.”
As for House of Grace Avila says they'll do everything they can, within the law, to keep their people safe.
“We must abide by the law because the church is composed of law-abiding citizens,” Avila said.
