Raw Story: Trump-backing Latino evangelicals now feel 'devastated and abandoned' by him: report

[Dennis Donovan]

Raw Story - Trump-backing Latino evangelicals now feel 'devastated and abandoned' by him: report

Brad Reed
February 7, 2025 2:51PM ET

President Donald Trump made big strides among Latino voters in the 2024 presidential election thanks in large part to the influence of evangelical Latino churches.

However, the Associated Press reports that many of these churches already feel "devastated and abandoned" by him after he signed an executive order authorizing Immigrations and Customers Enforcement to conduct immigration raids at schools and churches.

Although many Latino evangelicals believed that the Trump administration would only target people with criminal records for deportation, they've been surprised to learn that even some of their own pastors are now in the crosshairs.

Agustin Quiles, a spokesperson for the Florida Fellowship of Hispanic Councils and Evangelical Institutions, tells the AP that he's disturbed that the "messaging appears to be that anyone who is undocumented is a criminal" and he said that "we want to ask the president to reconsider because these actions are causing pain and trauma to so many families in and beyond our churches."

The Rev. Ruben Ortiz, Latino field coordinator for Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, tells the AP that he's been disturbed to hear about immigrations raids taking place around churches and he says that it is intimidating parishioners from showing up on Sundays.

/snip

[claudette]

1. Boo hoo

No sympathy from me

[LonePirate]

2. Oh well. When you dance with the devil, disappointment is guaranteed.

[Lovie777]

3. Oh well....

[BannonsLiver]

4. Inject their FAFO into my veins!

[brush]

5. Idiots.

[mwmisses4289]

6. Sad as it is, I have no sympathy for anyone who voted for it.

You were told, and you didn't listen. It's called consequences. Too bad you are taking the rest of us with you for making your poor decision.

[Volaris]

31. Yep...we here are prepared for the Leopards that we knew were coming...

Is there a spanish and Arabic language of the original Leopards cartoon we can send to these folks?!

[MustLoveBeagles]

7. FAFO

I do have sympathy for the children caught up in all this. They don't deserve this.

[33taw]

8. We have bigger problems than worrying about their regrets.

[RedWhiteBlueIsRacist]

9. PSA TO NON-WHITES: He is a white supremacist. He gets a boner from conning you.

Do you comprehende? Next time, listen to the Democrats!

[Dem4life1234]

38. There are some people

There are some who think just because someone is male and a certain color, that he is always right.

I'm interested to see the outcomes had Biden not fucking stepped down.

[HAB911]

10. YAY!

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. What part of "deporting 20 million" did they not understand?

These must be the dumbest voters there are. I really thought they wanted Trump's policies - that they looked down on the undocumented. The leopard explicitly told them it'd eat the faces of the undocumented, and now these morons are "devasted" or "disturbed" when it happens?

[CanonRay]

12. Boo fucking hoo

[DinahMoeHum]

13. Make mine with salsa. . .

[eppur_se_muova]

14. Well, I hope they're "disapponted" in their churches, too. Damned enablers.

Hope those churches see a big drop in their congregations -- and their offering plates.

[Tommy Carcetti]

15. "Nunca pens que los leopardos se comeran mi cara!"

"Nunca pensé que los leopardos se comerían mi cara", solloza la persona que votó por el Partido de los Leopardos Comiendo Caras de Personas.

[tanyev]

16. El Caudillo del Mar-a-Lago lied to them?

Gosh, who could have predicted that?

[LeftInTX]

17. What did they expect?

[bedazzled]

18. In the immortal words of my 11th grade english teacher...

Tough gazorts

[ProfessorGAC]

19. Took A While To Catch On

And we're not supposed to call them stupid.
This kind of thing makes it hard not to.

[yardwork]

20. Welp.

[Raftergirl]

21. Tots and pears.

[GoodRaisin]

22. I don't remember hearing him say he wasn't going to send ICE to churches and schools.

I do recall him saying he was going to carry out mass deportations. These assholes are getting exactly what he promised them. Promises made, promises kept.

[SkylineChili]

23. Wow... if only...

If only there had been some way to prevent this..... Oh. Wait.

Absolutely NO SYMPATHY. I have a friend who is a conservative Catholic priest pastoring a community that is 90% Mexican. Although he did not disclose his voting record this time, he did vote for Trump over Hillary in 2016. And he is an abortion voter, so I suspect how he voted this time. He called me in tears last week, talking about how scared his congregation is, how upset and fearful they are, and how much they are needing support. I responded, "Seriously? You are worried, NOW? Trump is doing exactly what he said he would do, and anyone who voted for this is completely culpable. These people have been betrayed by the very voters who should have voted to protect them." The conversation didn't last long. He suddenly had "a meeting" to go to.

It's hard, because I am a person of faith, deeply imbedded in justice, environmental, and gender issues, but I find more and more, I have No Fucks to Give, which in my book is a moral failing, but I am exhausted from this fight.

[Solly Mack]

24. That has always been his message. "messaging appears to be that anyone who is undocumented is a criminal"

Appears to be, my ass. Is. Was. Always has been.

[Vogon_Glory]

27. Or even in the US while Latino

Right-wingers have used “illegal aliens” as dog whistle terminology for ANY Latino immigrant here in the US whether with or without permission.

[LeftInTX]

29. They literally have pastors who are not here legally.

This move has imperiled 32 of the Latino evangelical denomination’s 70 pastors who are here without legal status

They came here illegally, they needed money, so they became a pastor via a mail order certificate. Probably a lot like La Luz del Mundo

[Solly Mack]

30. Yep. They sure have.

[Johonny]

25. Enjoy Gitmo

[Vogon_Glory]

26. The Latinos who voted for Donald John had ample warning as to what sort

of man he was, even with the language barrier. It doesn’t take much to realize that his track record was as bad as some of the worst presidents elected south of the US-Mexican border all the way to Cape Horn.

I am particularly disrespectful of the clergy who jumped on el tren de Trump. They forgot the heart-rending stories of how Donald Trump treated immigrant families and ignored how he disparaged Latinos.

They willingly gave their votes to the wolves who will prey on their congregations.

[mcar]

28. The leopard is eating MY face!

Poor lambs.

[OrlandoDem2]

32. Jajajajajajajajajajajajajajajajaja!! ĦQue te jodan!

[Norrrm]

33. Congratulations! You got what you wanted. Trump in the White House.

Have your members mail in their money.

Before they are deported.

[StarryNite]

34. Shrug

[Jit423]

35. All I can say is true Christians know each other by their deeds and the love they share with humanity.

That has nothing to do with a political issue or agenda.

[spanone]

36. FOOLS

[Dem4life1234]

37. Very disappointed in that demographic

They should have known better.

[Passages]

39. We need to talk to them and fast.

The lesson for them and the country is to avoid disaster, a cleanup will take some doing.

Let's get started now.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

40. Wait, am I supposed to feel sympathy for them?

There's my sympathy, now fuck off.

[hamsterjill]

41. So what are they going to do about it?

First of all, fuck the ones who didn’t listen.

Secondly, what are they doing to right the wrong that they’ve inflicted on the rest of us?

[travelingthrulife]

42. Since Traitor Trump is going to do the evil anyway, I am glad he is doing it in churches

and schools. It will make people angrier so much faster.