This story was originally published by North News, a community news source and youth journalism training program based in north Minneapolis. Subscribe to their print magazine or sign up for their newsletter here.
Pastor Victor Martinez placed the leather-bound Bible in a black garbage bag.
Standing in a small apartment bedroom, he made sure to surround Itzeile’s most cherished possession with clothes and stuffed animals for padding. Two framed family photos were bagged. A guitar stayed behind.
Itzeile was in the custody of ICE and would soon be deported.
“She’s allowed one bag that will fit in an overhead compartment,” said Martinez, the pastor of New Generation Church in North Minneapolis. “She can’t bring a computer or money. She wants her Bible, pictures and some clothes.”
His congregation has dwindled since President Donald Trump began an immigration enforcement surge in the Twin Cities that has fearful families shut in their homes.
On this day, he made two trips to a Saint Paul detention center to bring belongings for two church members being deported to Mexico.
“Things change every day,” Martinez said. “I have been on the phone consistently because you never know who else in the church is next.”
With so few in attendance on Sundays, Martinez may soon suspend services and has lent space at his church to Minnesota Blessings Support Services, which provides food for families facing hardship. Last week, the church and organization delivered groceries to 300 people. The demand was twice that.
Churches and Latino-run businesses, like restaurants and grocery stores, have shuttered or reduced hours across the Twin Cities and surrounding suburbs. Colonial Market and Restaurant, at Penn and Lowrey avenues, needs drivers to deliver groceries to customers who are afraid to leave their homes.
But the inability to go to church is especially difficult for Latino communities, said Vivian Salazar, who attends New Generation.
“Being part of a church is like having a second family, especially if you don’t have immediate family in the area,” Salazar said. “So, your church is your aunt, your uncle, a second family that helps raise your children.”
Martinez’s ministry has been shifting since Trump began his second term in office last year by vowing an unprecedented crackdown on immigration. Not long after Trump’s inauguration, New Generation families began to shy away from attending church.
Martinez and others from the church organized “know-your-rights” sessions for members and assisted in the grim work of preparing caregiver plans for children should their parents get detained.
He and other volunteers have been providing some church members with rides to and from work to keep them safe.
New Generation is also accepting donations to help local families with rent.
Lately, Martinez has been helping individuals and families move to safety when ICE is in their neighborhoods.
“We helped sneak out one of our families (from a Northside apartment complex) a couple of nights ago,” Martinez said. “There’s nothing to hide. ICE already knows what’s going on. This is real, and what they’re doing is not OK.”
The events of the last year have also led Martinez to rethink how he discusses political differences. On social media, where he is active, Martinez has drawn criticism for his conservative views. As a two-time candidate for city council, he assailed progressive leaders for “defund-the-police” policy language
Seeing the tactics of ICE agents in Minneapolis, Martinez admitted on Facebook that he understands the progressive side of the policing argument. Moving forward, he wishes to seek more middle ground with political adversaries.
Itzeile, 32, was arrested by ICE while getting out of her car to clean a house in Minnetonka. She did not try to resist or run, Martinez said. On the phone, she told him she was resigned to returning to Mexico.
She would travel from Bloomington to attend New Generation. She knows how to apply sheetrock, and volunteered this skill to the interior of the church.
“She has been here for a long time,” Martinez said. “She wasn’t a criminal; she was as sweet as can be. She’s just undocumented.”
