Faith in Action’s Omar Ángel Pérez: ‘The American Dream has been a mirage for years’

As a Zapotec person who is Indigenous to the Mexican state of Oaxaca, Omar Ángel Pérez, 48, knows about the discrimination and racism inflicted on immigrants in the United States, where he emigrated two decades ago. Personal experience led him to dedicate his career to the struggle for the rights of others like himself. Today, he is director of the immigration justice program at Faith in Action, a network that brings together multi-denominational congregations from around the country — primarily of Christian faith, but also Jewish and Muslim — and has chapters in Central America and Africa. The coalition has spoken out against Donald Trump’s administration during both terms for its promotion of racism and brutal attacks against migrants, and about how religious communities are organizing to combat it.

Question. What is the relationship between faith and immigration?

Answer. There is a diversity of theological versions and sacred texts that speak to immigration. From a theological perspective, there is the teaching of being on the side of the unprotected, and the imperative to protect those who travel, those who migrate. When we do this work, more than taking a political position, what we are doing is adopting a moral position.

Question. How is the collaboration between different religions when it comes to migratory issues? Is there a common narrative?

Answer. Political conditions surrounding migration in this country have changed a lot in the last 20 years and that has led to a near uniformity in the need to create channels through which migrants can come into the country. There are people who are seeking asylum, who come fleeing from different kinds of violence in their own countries. There is also an understanding of the contributions made by the migrant workforce to the country’s economy. What we experienced during the first Trump administration and is now on the rise is an attack on the social fabric of communities, with consequences from which all will suffer. Faith communities understand that when they take a position and respond to this moral imperative we have.

Question. What has changed in your work since January 20, the day Trump was inaugurated?

Answer. We have seen a brutal increase in attacks on the migrant community in a variety of ways. Directly, through the presence of immigration agents in our neighborhoods, in our homes, and through the separation of families. We are seeing how they are kidnapping people. Once someone is detained, how they can easily disappear from the system. The case of Kilmar [Abrego García] is a very good example of this. The Constitution guarantees him the right to remain in the country, argue his case and not be deported. And yet, he was deported. His wife only found out he was in a El Salvador prison because she saw him in a photo published in the media. There are hundreds of cases like this. The goal of carrying out 3,000 deportations a day is irrational. It is leading to violations of all the rules we knew before January 20.

Question. How is all this being impacted by the fact that places of worship are no longer protected from immigration raids?

Answer. The immediate impact is that there is a lack of physical presence of parishioners, and some dioceses have exempted their faithful from attending mass. So far, we have not seen immigration agents enter churches to make arrests, but some have taken place as people are leaving services. Under the previous Trump administration, they did enter places of worship to make arrests. This has created a lot of fear, but at the same time, the largest faith communities in the country have taken a strong stand to defend their communities and their spaces. The Pope called on the Catholic church to stand with migrants, and we have seen that in the actions of some bishops in Newark, El Paso, Miami. This is part of the work we are doing through Faith in Action.

Question. Can you tell me about a case that illustrates the impact that Faith in Action has had on the migrant community?

Answer. Under current conditions it has been very difficult, but in the last 10 years, we have made advancements in some places. Our headquarters in Massachusetts was part of a campaign that managed to make driver’s licenses available to undocumented people. In Arizona, our chapter was part of another that made it so undocumented students didn’t have to pay out-of-state tuition. In Washington DC, a sanctuary law was passed prohibiting local government from sharing information from the vehicle registration database with immigration authorities.

Question. Do you think racism is on the rise in the United States?

Answer. Definitely. The result of the elections is a clear example of that. Basically, 50% of the population voted for Trump. I think that due to the rise in violence against migrants, there are sectors of the population that are starting to question his policies, but racism has grown since his first administration, when the foundation and conditions were established for this to happen.

Question. What are the most widespread misconceptions about immigration?

Answer. Migrants have been used as a scapegoat for everything that is wrong with the country’s economy. There is a way of thinking — which is not only nationalist, but racist — that migrants are coming to destroy white society. They don’t stop to see reality, their contribution to the economic, social, cultural and political life of the country, and not only by Latino communities, but by all immigrant communities. When the raids began in California, immigrants didn’t show up to work the fields, and that created tremendous anxiety among landowners, because there wasn’t going to be a workforce for the next season. The same thing is happening in the construction industry.

Question. During the first Trump administration, some churches gave shelter to migrants to prevent them from being detained by ICE. Will that happen again?

Answer. There are congregations and faith leaders that are open to doing so, taking on the risk and responding to a moral imperative.

Question. Many of the migrants in detention centers, those who have been separated from their families, deportees, they came here looking for the American Dream. Is it a mirage?

Answer. It’s been a mirage for many years, and conditions are getting worse and worse, particularly under this administration.

Question. What must be done to create a more just and humane immigration system?

Answer. It’s important to analyze the economic impact and contribution that migrant communities make to the country, realize that the large part of migrant families have been here for decades and are an integral part of society. From there, there is a path towards citizenship for undocumented migrants. The societal impact, particularly the economic impact, would be positive, they just don’t want to do it.

Question. The two main parties of the United States have been trying for years, unsuccessfully, to arrive at an agreement on reforming the broken immigration system. Does the political will to achieve this exist?

Answer. There is no political will at this moment. There could be political will on one side, but not both. We were close a few years ago and there were a few advancements, like the implementation of temporary protective programs like DACA and TPS, which are temporary status programs. There are examples of what is possible and advisable, it’s just that the political will hasn’t been there.

Question. Are you hopeful that the situation will improve in the future?

Answer. My hope is that we are going to continue working with our communities, guided by faith, commitment and the imperative of prominent faith leaders, beginning with the Pope and our organization’s bishops.

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