After the Thump announced it would allow ICE to make arrests at Churches and Schools, which had been off-limits for years, pastor Jan Bolerjack of Riverton Park United Methodist Church has announced her intention to fight back. While she’s never actually come into contact with ICE, she still wanted to announce what she would do in the case that happened.
She said, “They’re not criminals, they’re not bad people. They’re people just like the rest of us. And so it’s very disappointing to be a part of a nation that is doing this right.” The pastor has yet to meet with ICE agents, but she has taken proactive steps to distribute “know your rights” cards to immigrants. She said, “We’re just rolling with the punches right now.”
The pastor expressed her concerns about the policy change. “It added an element of fear. I want people to have safe places they can go to,” she said. “Especially if they’re ill, they should be able to go to the hospital. Should be able to go to school.” She has provided sanctuary for hundreds of migrants. Including illegals from Angola, Venezuela, and the Congo.
She added,” They do feel safe here, and I hope we continue to make that point.” She thinks that the separation of church will require ICE agents to produce proper warrants before stepping onto church property. “My biggest fear is that someone’s going to get picked up and deported, and we’re not really even going to know what’s happening,” the woke pastor said.
In the official statement, the DHS said,” Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman issued two directives essential to ending the invasion of the US southern border and empower law enforcement to protect Americans. ” The releases went into the specifics of each change: “The first directive rescinds the Biden Administration’s guidelines for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) enforcement actions that thwart law enforcement in or near so-called “sensitive” areas.”
“The second directive ends the broad abuse of humanitarian parole and returns the program to a case-by-case basis. ICE and CBP will phase out any parole programs that are not in accordance with the law,” the report added. It included direct quotes from the acting secretary. “This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens—including murders and rapists—who have illegally come into our country.”
She added, “Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest. The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense.” The report continued to blast the Biden admin and their lax border policy. The report concluded, “The Biden-Harris Administration abused the humanitarian parole program to indiscriminately allow 1.5 million migrants to enter our country. This was all stopped on day one of the Trump Administration.”
“This action will return the humanitarian parole program to its original purpose of looking at migrants on a case-by-case basis,” the press release stated. The woke pastor reacted, “That’s scary, suddenly, we’re going to have kids without parents. That’s terrible.” She urged her flock to speak up, “Make sure they step up, to make sure they’re ready to respond, to make sure they’re ready to be a front line to protect the folks,”
To prepare for potential deportations, Bolerjack’s church is helping families create power of attorney documents to ensure children are cared for if their parents are detained.
Bolerjack urged those who don’t like what they’re seeing to take action.
Bolerjack said.