As a Christian, Corey Wallis wants to know how she can care for her neighbors \u201ccourageously and confidently.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wallis, a student at Fort Worth\u2019s Brite Divinity School, said she has been looking for ways to support immigrants and voice her opposition to Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations happening in the Fort Worth-Dallas area.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She wasn\u2019t alone. Wallis was among several students who gathered at the school Jan. 30 to hear a panel of lawyers, religious leaders and faith-based organizations discuss the challenges and responses to immigration enforcement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe problem is bigger than just the church, and to confront these problems going forward, we have to work interfaith-wise and also with a lot of secular organizations,\u201d Wallis said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wallis was among the 55 attendees at Bass Conference Center for Thursday night\u2019s event titled \u201cThe Foreigner Among Us.\u201d Another 50 people tuned into the conversation virtually.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The experiences that immigrant families go through, such as being separated from relatives or fearing to go grocery shopping or take their kids to school, isn\u2019t something new, said Sandy Ovalle, founder of Coyo Strategies. Previous presidential administrations have also had large deportation goals, she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But what is new today is the \u201cspeed and the size and the cruelty of the tactics,\u201d Ovalle said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOur conversation tonight is crucial, because this is a moment when we need inspiration and ideas to be able to respond faithfully to the call to treat the foreigner among us as those who were native born,\u201d she said in opening the event.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20260129_GreeneForeigner-Among-Us-2-1024x683.jpg\")
Jorge Molina, founder and managing attorney at J. Molina Law Firm, left, speaks during \u201cThe Foreigner Among Us\u201d event Jan. 29 at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth. Jorge said what is happening is not a \u201cchange in the law\u201d but rather a \u201cmassive departure of actually following the law.\u201d (Christine Vo | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
What is happening is not a \u201cchange in the law\u201d but rather a \u201cmassive departure of actually following the law,\u201d said Jorge Molina, an immigration attorney based in Fort Worth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The state of immigration is a political issue, Molina said. He referenced an Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo<\/a> obtained by the Associated Press<\/a> authorizing federal immigration officers to enter a residence without a judge\u2019s warrant<\/a>. He also spoke on how detained immigrants have been denied due process,<\/a> or a chance to defend their rights in a fair court hearing.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the end of the day, Molina said, attorneys have to go through federal courts with lawsuits \u2014 but not everyone with an immigration case can afford an attorney, he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I\u2019ve been seeing, frankly, and it\u2019s very sad, is that a lot of folks are saying, \u2018This is not worth it. This is not my dream. This is a nightmare,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Immigrant churches are on the front lines as hubs of resources such as spiritual and legal support, said Rev. Dr. Alexia Salvatierra, an academic dean at Fuller Theological Seminary\u2019s Centro Latino in California.\u00a0<\/p>\n Places of worship with a predominant undocumented population need other churches to \u201ccome side by side\u201d with them with financial support, prayer and public resistance, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t need the non-immigrant churches to rescue us, but we do need the non-immigrant churches to accompany us,\u201d Salvatierra said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The issue is not political, but theological, said Cintia Aguilar, immigration ministry manager for FaithWorks. The faith-based nonprofit \u201cmobilizes Christians to practice compassion and pursue justice\u201d on immigration and other issues, according to its website<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cJesus was an immigrant, and we\u2019ve seen immigration. We\u2019ve seen migration present in the Scripture from the beginning,\u201d Aguilar said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Churches have to be flexible and adaptable to the needs of the immigrant population in their congregations, Aguilar said.\u00a0<\/p>\n That can look like offering transportation, mental health resources and praying outside of courts, but it\u2019s going to take everyone, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not just one other ministry that we are doing. This is the life that we are living,\u201d Aguilar said. \u201cIt is not about us and them. It\u2019s about all of us together.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n To Brite student Linda Sanchez, immigration is both a theological and political issue. While advocating for immigrants\u2019 rights can be scary and feel daunting, Sanchez said, it\u2019s still important to show up.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOne thing that we can do to stand in solidarity with one another is to witness and not look away.\u201d<\/p>\n Marissa Greene is a Report for America corps member, covering faith for the Fort Worth Report. You can contact her at marissa.greene@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20260129_GreeneForeigner-Among-Us-3-1024x683.jpg\")
Left to right: Rev. Alexia Salvatierra, academic dean for Fuller Theological Seminary\u2019s Centro Latino; Jorge Molina, founder and managing attorney at J. Molina Law Firm; Cintia Aguilar, FaithWorks immigration ministry manager; and Sandy Ovalle, founder of Coyo Strategies speak during \u201cThe Foreigner Among Us\u201d event Jan. 29 at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth. About 55 attendees joined the conversation at Bass Conference Center with another 50 people tuned in virtually. (Christine Vo | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n