"Father Fabian Arias sat in his car inside a Queens parking lot and hung up his cellphone. He had just finished giving advice to a man who was begging for help with an upcoming immigration hearing at 26 Federal Plaza. Within minutes of placing the device on the dashboard, it began vibrating again another new voice on the other end of the line, pleading for aid in their immigration case."
"According to the priest, the trials and tribulations of the country's newest residents are nothing new, recalling federal agents raiding factories under the Bush 43 presidency. However, as hard as things were in years past, Arias told amNewYork that he has never seen anything like the aggressive tactics of the immigration crackdown under President Donald Trump. Aggressive, verbal, physical, psychological."
Father Fabian Arias fields constant calls day and night from immigrants seeking help with immigration hearings and cases, including some from people held in ICE detention. Arias, an immigrant from Argentina who presides over St. Peter's Church Midtown, dedicates his life to supporting fellow immigrants through assimilation into the United States and to aiding families affected by ICE detentions. He recalls past federal raids under the Bush 43 presidency but describes the current enforcement under President Donald Trump as unprecedentedly aggressive—verbal, physical, and psychological. St. Peter's functions as a sanctuary, yet an air of sorrow pervades the worship community.
Read at www.amny.com
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