A major and never-before-seen step has been taken by a California bishop to shield church members from the growing fear of immigration raids. Bishop Alberto Rojas of the Diocese of San Bernardino has announced a new rule that excuses people from the usual Sunday Mass requirement if they are truly afraid of possible immigration enforcement actions.
This decision came with a statement that was a direct response to recent federal immigration operations happening across the country. The Diocese of San Bernardino covers a large part of Southern California, including San Bernardino and Riverside counties, and serves about 1.6 million Roman Catholics. These counties have big Latino communities, many of whom are especially at risk under current immigration enforcement policies.
As found by MSNBC, the statement read, “While we surely respect and appreciate the right of law enforcement to keep our communities safe from violent criminals, we are now seeing agents detain people as they leave their homes, in their places of work and other randomly chosen public settings. We have experienced at least one case of ICE agents entering a parish property and seizing several people. It should be no surprise that this is creating a tremendous amount of fear, confusion and anxiety for many. It is not of the Gospel of Jesus Christ — which guides us in all that we do.”
The church is starting to turn against ICE
Under Catholic church law, a bishop has the power to excuse people in his area from certain religious rules if he believes it will help their spiritual well-being. While going to Mass on Sundays is normally a must for practicing Catholics, exceptions have been made in the past during extreme situations like natural disasters, wars, or major events like the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this is a rare case where such an exception has been made specifically because of worries about immigration enforcement. According to Catholic teachings, missing Mass without a good reason or permission is considered a serious sin.
NEW: Bishop Rojas of San Bernardino has dispensed his Diocese from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass due to ongoing ICE raids. pic.twitter.com/VOdKp1HKqJ
— Rich Raho (@RichRaho) July 9, 2025
Bishop Rojas’s rule encourages those who are excused from Mass to stay connected to their faith in other ways. This can include personal prayer, reading the Bible, taking part in religious devotions, or watching Mass online or on TV when possible. This advice stresses the importance of keeping up spiritual practices even when going to church in person feels unsafe.
It’s easy to see why the Bishop is trying to help when the current government has removed earlier policies that usually prevented federal immigration enforcement in sensitive locations like churches, hospitals, and schools, and assaults from ICE keep rising. This change has allowed immigration officials to make arrests in places that were once seen as safe spaces, making immigrant communities even more fearful.
