SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – It's been a tense time for those who are and could be affected by President Donald Trump's immigration policies.
"We've always really served an immigrant community,” Father Scott Santarosa of Our Lady of Guadalupe Jesuit Catholic Church said.
Nestled beside I-5 north in Logan Heights is Our Lady of Guadalupe Jesuit Catholic Church.
"Given the new administration, which has put a lot more pressure and inspired more fear in people, people have been worried, afraid,” Santarosa said. "They're afraid that family members who have been here for a long time could be detained or worse yet deported."
During the surge of migrants in 2023, it was home to a migrant center for people seeking asylum in the U.S. But, it's now home to something else to help people.
"This is not a shelter. It's a place that's kind of a drop-in center where immigrants can come for resources,” Santarosa said. So, let's say a person we just this last Sunday after mass said, 'I want to take classes for citizenship. I think I'm eligible.' So, we don't necessarily provide that, but we have a partner, Alliance, which does."
The center, named after the late Pope Francis, is meant to help those navigating life under the ever-changing immigration policies of the current administration.
"The second area is spiritual and emotional support. People are undergoing a kind of trauma and trying to help people through that time, help people to know that God, in fact, hasn't abandoned them, nor will God ever abandon them,” Santarosa said. “So important in this time we all need that. And the third area is actually legal, some sort of legal resources."
Santarosa's no stranger to making his voice heard and efforts known to help the immigrant community during this time. He's joined a program to support those seeking asylum and joined a federal lawsuit to reestablish places like churches as protected places from immigration enforcement.
"People could, you know, of course, target us as a pro-immigrant,” Santarosa said. "We don't want to attract negativity, but we also don't want to stop being who we are and who God calls us to be."
