The N.C. Council of Churches is voicing concerns after the organization said armed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were reportedly at a Charlotte church on May 20.
Representatives from the Carolina Migrant Network and the Latin American Coalition joined members of the council during a press conference Wednesday.
According to the council’s executive director, Jennifer Copeland, ICE agents staged an operation at one of the group’s churches during preschool pickup. While no one was detained, she said the actions had a chilling effect.
“It created fear among the staff and the children, the families, the congregants. And here’s the thing — it wasn’t just in that place. That fear was instilled, but sacred places all across North Carolina now worry, can that happen to us?” Copeland said.
Copeland didn’t share the name of the church where the incident reportedly happened last week.
However, the Carolina Migrant Network, a group that provides free legal services to people in immigration removal procedures, said it happened at Central United Methodist Church in East Charlotte.
Copeland said if ICE needs a staging ground, agents should do it somewhere else.
“ICE enforcement activity on sacred property interferes with the Christian call to welcome the stranger, serve our neighbors and carry out the ministries that are central to our faith,” Copeland said.
The N.C. Council of Churches is made up of members with more than 6,200 congregations throughout the state across a variety of denominations, according to the organization’s website. It has a focus on social issues, including environmental justice, health and welfare and immigrants’ rights.
