WASHINGTON — A group of Hispanic Pentecostal faith leaders gathered at a hotel near the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday to entreat the Trump administration to show mercy by extending the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program for El Salvador, which expires Wednesday.
During a press conference at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill that was mostly in Spanish, pastors and bishops with the Confraternity of Pentecostal Entities of the Americas (CEPA) highlighted cases of Pentecostal pastors detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). CEPA unites approximately 21,000 Pentecostal churches across 36 U.S. states and throughout the Americas.
Bishop Ángel Marcial, a leader in the Cleveland, Tennessee-based Church of God who also serves as president of CEPA, opened by stating that their meeting was not political but pastoral, "accompanied by prophetic voice that is necessary in these times." "We all speak the language of mercy.
That's what precisely unites us," Marcial said through an English translator, both of whom spoke in front of signs that named pastors who have been detained or deported by ICE. "We are really worried, very worried, for the emotional status of our Salvadoran community, because tomorrow is the end date of the TPS. And we only want to speak to you as ministers, as pastors," he said.
The end of TPS for El Salvador removes legal status and work authorization from more than 170,000 Salvadorans who have lived in the U.S. since the designation began in 2001. There are reportedly 150,000 U.S. citizens who are children of such individuals.
Many of the speakers echoed a statement posted on CEPA's website, which acknowledges that Romans 13 commands Christians to submit to civil authorities, but also claims Scripture "teaches that every legitimate authority has limits: a righteous ruler does not terrorize those who do good; judges must