DETROIT (WXYZ) — Central United Methodist Church opened in downtown Detroit in 1866.
"This is a historic congregation. As you can see, we just celebrated MLK Sunday," Rev. Paul Perez said.
He said Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke there several times, including two weeks before his assassination. Those are historic moments for the church and now, they're bracing for what could be another significant moment in American history and what Perez believes may be a more aggressive approach to deportation during President Donald Trump's second term.
The reverend explained that he's "deeply concerned and disturbed about the Trump administration's desire to implement mass deportations, to challenge birthright citizenship and to remove the protection for sensitive locations like schools and churches."
Perez said schools and churches have traditionally been off limits for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and served as safe locations for undocumented immigrants to congregate without fear of being detained and for those seeking asylum.
"Most notably, we housed the Ranxburgaj family. Ded, the husband and father, was facing deportation and he and his family lived here for three years while he fought his case, and we're committed to sanctuary housing moving forward," he said.
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7 News Detroit reached out to ICE for any information on their plans moving forward. We have not heard back as of Wednesday evening.
On Wednesday, Dearborn Police Chief Issa Shahin was asked about whether his department would aid ICE agents.
"We need victims, witnesses in the community to know that they can contact police and that we're not going to be checking their immigration status. It's not a policy or a practice of this police department to involve ourselves with people's immigration status," he told reporters.
Detroit City Council member Gabriella Santiago-Romero took to her Instagram page to tell residents to know their rights.
Perez said the U.S. immigration system has a tremendous backlog in the courts for those who are trying to do things the right way.
"For example, the families that we have worked with who are seeking asylum, sometimes that process can take three to five years from when they enter the U.S. So, it's really difficult. It's really complex. There's a lot of nuance to it and because of that, there just isn't a simple one-size-fits-all solution," he said.
