DHS official makes appeal to Hispanic Christian leaders ahead of midterms
WASHINGTON — Hispanic Christian leaders in the Trump administration and around the United States are calling on churches and Christians to get involved ahead of the midterm elections next month.
Irene Armendariz-Jackson, faith director at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, spoke Tuesday at the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC) 25th Anniversary Summit at the Museum of the Bible.
The annual gathering of Hispanic Christians took place two weeks before the midterm elections, which were a major topic of discussion throughout the summit.
In her brief speech, Armendariz-Jackson, a Texas small business owner who has been active with faith-based organizations in her hometown of El Paso, Texas, stressed the importance of churches and Christians taking an active role in government.
“Back in 2016, I woke up and I realized that as a believer in Christ, I should be involved in the public square,” she recalled. “We call it politics, but it’s government, and government affects [everything] from the gas that you pump to the food that you eat and, more importantly, it upholds biblical values.”
Armendariz-Jackson said that Christians should “stand in church every Sunday” and “raise our hands and sing ‘Here I am Lord, send me,’” but “in our communities, we stay in our homes and in our churches.” She attributed this to a desire to avoid conflict over political differences.
“We don’t want to lose friends. We don’t want to lose family,” she said.
Armendariz-Jackson told the crowd that President Donald Trump's “elevated faith,” and "understands that you’re in your communities working hard to protect your own communities so we want to make sure that you have the resources available through the government.”
She invited audience members to contact her directly about how they are working to “defend the defenseless,” “stand against the ones that want to destroy America” and “teach our children to love the American heritage."
The DHS official's appeal to the NHCLC gathering comes as Latino leaders and lawmakers have voiced concern about how the Trump administration's aggressive enforcement of immigration law could erode the ground the president gained with Hispanic voters in the 2024 election, when he secured 46% of the Latino vote. On a call sponsored by NHCLC earlier this year, one pastor in Minneapolis said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in his community put his church at risk of closure.
Rep. Maria Salaza, R-Fla., a Cuban American who represents Miami, has said previously that the administration's push for a mass deportation of illegal immigrants, including those who do not have criminal records outside of entering the country illegally, is leaving “a sour taste" in the mouths of many of her constituents.
Marissa Franco, a youth director at El Templo Calvario in San Angelo, Texas, who attended the NHCLC gathering, told The Christian Post that in the midterms, “Christ followers and believers” should “vote for what honors God the most.”
She said “immigration and the safety of […] the immigrants that are trying to do it right” as an issue of particular importance to her ahead of the midterms.
“They’re trying to do it the right way. How can we ensure their safety and […] just their security here in the U.S.?”
Mauricio Franco Jr., executive pastor at El Templo Calvario, attended the NHCLC event for the first time this year and echoed Armendariz-Jackson’s call for churches to get involved in politics.
“I think it’s very important for everybody to go out and vote,” he said. “I think, especially as Christians, as believers, we have an opportunity to have our voice heard. And if you’re one of those that wants to stay silent, then you can’t complain about what’s happening. But voting is very important. It is not only an opportunity that we have but it is our duty to be able to help shape the culture of the future local church in America.”
Asked what issues affecting his predominantly Hispanic congregation of about 50 people he would like candidates to address before the midterms, Franco said: “I would definitely love to see candidates help with more opportunity when it comes to the local Hispanic church in America. I think reminding them that we are there, we’re here to love people and help people and serve people. And I would love if we could have more resources to be able to […] expand the Word of God out to others in different demographics.”
Franco said he specifically wants the church’s “voice to be heard when it comes to sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
“I’m not saying we need permission from the government but to have their support when it comes to […] the opportunities to share the Gospel would be a big thing for us,” he said.
“The future of the American Hispanic church, I believe, is bright and I believe is going to be something that is going to not only help shape our country but it’s going to help those who need to see Jesus clearly,” he predicted. “It’s going to help them one day come back to the feet of Jesus and make Him Lord of their life.”
Another speaker, Marco Garcia of the multicampus church The Way World Outreach, shared statistics on the significance of Hispanic churches: “Fifty-four percent of Hispanic churches started after the year 2000. The fastest growing segment of church plants is the Hispanic community. Sixty-five percent of Hispanics identified themselves as Christians, which is 43 million of us.”
