‘Our immigrants are invisible’: A pastor ministers to the frightened at Immigration Court

NEW YORK (RNS) — Last month, on the 12th floor of 26 Federal Plaza, a few families dressed in their Sunday best clutched manila folders and stared stone-faced at a large board. It listed the day’s immigration hearings and judges. A crying boy was led toward the elevators by a woman. Around the corner, three men in collared short-sleeved shirts — federal immigration agents — stood together, occasionally laughing with each other and looking at their phones.

Nearby, the Rev. Eduardo Fabian Arias, conspicuous in his Roman collar, moved through the hallways — introducing himself and handing out small business cards of information to immigrants who lacked lawyers and rushing to get one man’s name when he was arrested in court so that Arias could notify the family.

“I understand that this country needs to have order. That’s fine. But one thing is order, and another thing is abusing human beings,” said Arias, a Lutheran pastor at Saint Peter’s Church in Midtown Manhattan. “We need to have order, but we need to respect the human being.”

Since becoming a pastor at Saint Peter’s in 2020, Arias has made immigrant accompaniment a central part of his ministry. A few days each week, he…