Church Community Left in Fear After Man Detained Without Warrant

On Wednesday in Downey, California—a suburb just outside Los Angeles—a man was detained outside a church without a warrant, leaving the community shaken and in fear. 

A group of armed men in face coverings detained a Latino man outside Downey Memorial Christian Church in what faith leaders believe was a federal immigration raid. The man was taken away in front of churchgoers and clergy, without an explanation, identification, or a warrant.

Rev. Tanya Lopez, the church’s senior pastor, was in her office when three SUVs with dark tinted windows pulled into the church parking lot. Five men jumped out, some wearing tan bulletproof vests with the word “POLICE” on them. 

Rev. Lopez said the men refused to say which agency they worked for. When asked, they did not give names or badge numbers, and their vehicles had out-of-state license plates. No warrant was presented.

“They took the man into a black SUV,” Rev. Lopez recalled. She attempted to communicate with him in Spanish, shouting words of guidance and support. One of the men responded by drawing a rifle on her. “It felt like a final warning to step back,” she said. The men then laughed and “started cracking up,” she added.

Rev. Al Lopez, the church’s administrative pastor, confronted the men in the parking lot and told them they were not welcome on church property. One man shouted back, “The whole country is our property.” The vehicles left without further explanation.

The incident has left the community deeply unsettled. “I’m incredibly shaken,” Rev. Lopez said through tears. “It’s when I have a quiet moment that it really hits me.”

Several businesses in Los Angeles had also been raided that morning. According to Mario Trujillo, a Downey City Council member, at least four people were detained at a fitness center, and two more at a Home Depot.

“These raids at Home Depots, restaurants, places of worship, or schools are not keeping our community safe,” Trujillo said. “They are creating havoc and fear.”

ICE did not respond to requests for comment.

Trujillo said he believes the raids were indiscriminate, not focused on individuals with outstanding warrants or criminal records. “They’ve chosen to define being undocumented as a crime,” he said. “But to us, these are hardworking members of our community. These are our neighbors.”

Let us pray and act for a future where families are protected, not persecuted. Where faith is a refuge, not a raid site. And where love—not fear—defines our communities.