AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Ramped up immigration enforcement continues in Los Angeles, and houses of worship are making sure they know what to do if and when federal agents show up at their doors. NPR religion correspondent Jason DeRose reports.
JASON DEROSE, BYLINE: In recent weeks, pastor Caleb Crainer began developing a plan.
CALEB CRAINER: So we have three of these pink binders that are around the church. There's one in the church office. There's one over in the fellowship hall 'cause it's a separate building. And then there's one in the narthex, the lobby of the sanctuary, because those are kind of the entry points.
DEROSE: Entrances to St. Andrew's Lutheran Church in West Los Angeles.
CRAINER: In the binder is the full policy with all of the examples of the court orders and the know-your-rights stuff and then phone numbers.
DEROSE: So if immigration agents show up, church staff or ushers or any member will know what to do. Crainer and his congregation have learned a lot about the law.
CRAINER: As a church, you need to know where your public spaces are and where your private spaces are because when ICE shows up, they can go into any public space, but they are precluded from going into any private space without a warrant.
DEROSE: Crainer says plans like this are important since the Trump administration rescinded guidance advising immigration agents to avoid sensitive locations, including houses of worship. But clergy here didn't wait until President Trump returned to office in January.
JENNIFER GUTIERREZ: We started out right after the election, doing a whole lot of know-your-rights training, training with congregations on sanctuary and also rapid response training. And that's still ongoing.
DEROSE: Methodist minister Jennifer Gutierrez leads the group Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice.
JENNIFER GUTIERREZ: We've been spending a lot of time in the streets, a number of rabbis or other clergy and their callers out at actions, trying to be a peaceful presence but also just trying to show the community that we stand with them.
DEROSE: This past week, the Catholic bishop in the neighboring Diocese of San Bernardino told anyone who fears arrest while going to church, they didn't have to attend mass. Pastor Crainer of St. Andrew's Lutheran says, it's a familiar story for Christians.
CRAINER: Jesus was a vulnerable person who created a lot of enemies among the rich and powerful. He was arrested. He was disappeared in the middle of the night and put through a sham trial and publicly executed. That's the core of our Christian story.
DEROSE: A story, Crainer says, that teaches followers of Jesus to show mercy toward the most vulnerable. Jason DeRose, NPR News, Los Angeles. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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