Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has issued an order to state regulators to deny permits or renewals to those who shelter unaccompanied migrant children. In February of last year, more than 200 religious leaders and evangelical pastors from Spanish-speaking churches protested against the governor in downtown Tallahassee, claiming they were being prevented from doing "the work that God has called us to do." Many of these shelters were located in local Latino evangelical churches, and religious leaders also spoke out against a law that now prohibits state and local governments from hiring transportation companies that are known to bring in undocumented immigrants, reports The Washington Post.

Now, as DeSantis prepares for a possible 2024 presidential bid and introduces an immigration package that seeks to impose stricter penalties on Florida residents who "transport, conceal or harbor" unauthorized immigrants, some Latino evangelical leaders say they are willing to disobey the law if it is enacted, and are mobilizing their faithful to "fight against DeSantis."

With the possible realization of the proposals, some pastors fear that they could be arrested simply for serving the immigrant communities. Many churches provide food and shelter to those in need, which may include immigrants and unaccompanied migrant children. Pastors frequently drive sick congregants to the hospital, and congregations travel to worship retreats, with church vans frequently picking up and dropping off church members.

"Allowing politics to interfere with congregational decision-making," said Carlos Carbajal, who leads an evangelical immigrant congregation in Miami, would be a "betrayal of the gospel."

Although a relatively small demographic, Latino evangelicals are a fast-growing religious group in the United States and one that the 2024 presidential campaigns will work hard to capture. However, many in the community caution that they are not easily swayed by traditional right- or left-wing arguments, even as more than half of Florida's Latinos voted for DeSantis' re-election last year.

Agustin Quiles is director of government affairs for the Florida Fellowship of Hispanic Bishops and Evangelical Institutions, which represents more than 2,500 churches and organizations across the state. For Quiles, the immigration package proposed by DeSantis “is the issue that will really wake up the Latino evangelical community”.

“Although DeSantis uses some of our conservative values ​​to gain support in our community, when you touch the hearts of our churches and the people we love and care for, our pastors are not going to accept that,” Quiles said.

Among those at risk, Quiles said, are "faithful people, who give tithes, who support the work of the church." The governor is "committing a big mistake and should reconsider," said Quiles, who is part of the "Evangelicals for Justice" campaign against the death penalty and who called on DeSantis to stop the execution of Donald David Dillbeck. That campaign will now focus its efforts against the proposed immigration measures.

Reverend Esteban Rodríguez of Centro Cristiano Pan de Vida in Kissimmee, a central Florida town south of Orlando, said he is willing not only to break the law if DeSantis' immigration package goes into effect, but also to rise up against him.

Rodríguez cited the biblical story of Pharaoh's decree to kill newborn Hebrew boys in Egypt. He noted the midwives "who were willing to break the law and that's why they were able to save Moses."

The immigration measures proposed by DeSantis "harm humanity" and "do not align with what we preach," said Rodríguez, who is also secretary of the Florida Fellowship of Hispanic Bishops and Evangelical Institutions.

The faith community must serve the people, Rodríguez said, and screening congregants to see if they are immigrants or undocumented "would affect how we serve the community."

The Reverend Samuel Rodríguez, who serves as president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, said "there is anguish in the Latino evangelical community" over DeSantis' proposed immigration.

“Every Latino pastor in the state of Florida, every Latino pastor who leads a Spanish-speaking ministry, if I were to bet, we have undocumented individuals in every single one of these churches, without exception,” he said. "So you're saying that the same Latino pastors who are pro-life, pro-religious freedom, biblical justice, no to socialism and communism and yes to parental rights - that this leadership, we are criminals?"

Pastor Samuel Rodriguez praised Governor DeSantis' approach to the evangelical Hispanic community, but expressed concern about third-degree sentences for harboring undocumented immigrants and hospitals sharing immigration information. However, he added that that doesn't mean Latino evangelicals approve of President Biden's handling of the immigration issue.

Rodriguez is seeking a meeting with DeSantis to express his concerns about the governor's current proposal, as he believes it is possible to have compassion and common sense in providing basic services for human beings, even as you try to stop illegal immigration.

Pastors David and Ada Rivera lead the Tampa Pentecostal Church of God and protested the DeSantis measures in Tallahassee last year. They believe that people immigrate in search of a better life and want to help them, and they joined other business and multifaith leaders in a statement condemning the governor's "draconian" measures.

For Reverend Rubén Ortiz, leading Comunidad Cristiana Nuevo Pacto means opening doors for those who need shelter, regardless of their immigration status. He argues that churches employ people without asking about their immigration status and that pastors will continue to challenge the governor's immigration plans "in every way possible."

Ortiz believes that DeSantis is trying to win votes from the far right, but he is educating his people to understand that he is a bad governor who is using the immigrant community for his own political agenda. Ortiz's congregation in DeLand is made up of people from various parts of Latin America and the Caribbean islands, and they are ready to raise their voices in opposition to the governor's anti-immigrant policies.

Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2023/03/07/desantis-immigration-latino-hispanic-evangelical/