SAN DIEGO (OSV News) -- Presence has enormous power.
Power to make someone feel human. Power to bear witness. Power to bring God's warm love into a cold courthouse.
In the Diocese of San Diego, a ministry that accompanies immigrants in the country without documents to their hearings and check-ins with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, at the downtown federal courthouse marked its first year in August.
In that time, clergy members and volunteers have prayed with countless migrants, comforted family members whose loved ones were detained, and raised awareness to what is unfolding daily as the federal government wages a massive deportation campaign.
In 2024, ICE agents detained around 600 unauthorized immigrants in the San Diego-Imperial Valley region. In 2025, they detained 8,300, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Faithful Accompaniment in Trust and Hope
The ministry is FAITH -- Faithful Accompaniment in Trust and Hope -- and is a collaborative effort of the diocese, led by Bishop Michael M. Pham, Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Barrio Logan and the San Diego Organizing Project.
At least 713 people had received training to serve as FAITH volunteers, 162 of them members of the clergy, as of July 14. They include 51 Catholic priests, 24 deacons and 13 women religious. Clergy from other faith traditions also are participating, as are individuals who are not affiliated with any faith, according to Jesuit Father Scott Santarosa, of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish.
Small groups of volunteers, around five to seven, meet weekdays outside of the courthouse three times a day to serve in two-hour shifts, starting at 7:30 a.m., 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. They share information, pray together and then head inside.
"We pray for those that we hope to serve, and for the people who work in the building," Deacon Chris Hulburt, a regular volunteer since the ministry began, told The Southern Cross, San Diego's diocesan news outlet. "We're not there to protest. We're there to bring the body of Christ to what's happening there."
He said what the volunteers are doing "is the essential ministry of the Church, which is to accompany the least of these, to accompany the outsider, to care for the oppressed, to defend the defenseless, to speak for the voiceless. This is the core of who we're called to be as Christians."
Pray with immigrants, walk with them and family members
At times, migrants request accompaniment. The volunteers meet them outside of the building, pray with them and walk in with them and their family members.
The action occurs mainly on two floors. The second floor houses the ICE office and another one, known as ISAP (Intensive Supervision Appearance Program). The courtrooms where the hearings are heard are located on the fourth floor, which has a waiting area.
The volunteers head to the fourth floor, which is open to the public, where they can sit at the back of the courtroom, being present for the migrants facing the judge and praying. They can approach migrants in the hallways and in the waiting area, introduce themselves, offer information about community resources and offer to pray with them.
Holding a rosary, Deacon Hulburt said he tries "to make loving eye contact, try to detect an openness."
"I wish I could speak all languages, but I don't," he said. "But we can speak the language of love, of presence and peace. And we can do that in a lot of ways that have nothing to do with words."
The migrants are from all over the world, not just Latin America. They come from Russia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Haiti, China and Nigeria, among other countries.
First phase of ministry marked by fear, trauma
Father Santarosa described the ministry's work at the immigration courthouse as unfolding in several distinct chapters over the past year. The first phase, when the program began, was marked by fear and trauma.
According to Deacon Hulburt, migrants often left court expecting to return for future hearings or after having their cases dismissed, only to be met by heavily armed and intimidating ICE agents who detained them immediately.
Volunteers from the ministry witnessed these encounters, praying with detained migrants and distraught family members left behind.
The second chapter began late last fall when ICE shifted arrests from public hallways to a restricted second-floor area. Father Santarosa believes the change resulted from the visible presence of volunteers, making public arrests more difficult and controversial.
In the third phase, authorities increasingly relied on surveillance measures, such as ankle monitors, rather than immediate detention. The current chapter involves "mass dockets," in which up to 100 migrants may be summoned to court on short notice. Those who fail to appear can automatically receive detention and deportation orders.
Government's response to FAITH volunteers has evolved
The government's response to the volunteers has also evolved. Some ICE agents allegedly tried to intimidate ministry members and discourage their presence. In response, ministry leaders, including Bishop Pham, met with the Federal Protective Service in May. The agency affirmed that volunteers had the right to remain in public courthouse areas while carrying out their ministry.
Chris Gomez has been a weekly volunteer since the ministry began. A retiree, she said the experience, "hasn't always been easy."
At times, her back would hurt from standing around. Facing armed, masked men "was scary." Then there was the trauma playing out in front of her.
She recalled seeing an old man being taken away in front of his children and grandchildren, who began to sob. Another time a man pleaded with the volunteers -- "Help me, call my family!" -- as agents led him away.
The volunteers were able to track down the family, she noted.
Gomez said she feels the gratitude of migrants she passes in the hallways, who thank her for being present.
Ministry has helped volunteers in 'finding joy in the sorrow'
Like the other volunteers interviewed, she said the ministry has changed her in several ways. The biggest change has been "finding joy in the sorrow."
"I think the joy for me," she said, "has been just being there because I feel if Jesus were here, physically, I think he would be there, too."
Father Santarosa said that the volunteers are people who are used to getting results, but in this ministry they can't do that. "We can't change outcomes or prevent arrests."
"This has been humbling for us," he said.
Last October, when immigration authorities ordered a man named Fidel to appear in court, his family asked volunteers from the FAITH ministry to accompany him. The group included Auxiliary Bishop Felipe Pulido, Father Tommie Jennings, Deacon Carlos Morales, and several parishioners attended the hearing in support of Fidel.
Fidel, who is from Mexico, has lived in the United States without papers since 1996, and he and his wife have belonged to Christ the King Parish for 27 years. The couple has two U.S.-born daughters, ages 20 and 26. Fidel said he has never been convicted of a crime.
Left hearing with new court date only to be detained by ICE
At the Oct. 9, 2025, hearing, the judge continued Fidel's case until January 2026. But as the group left the courtroom, an ICE agent directed Fidel to report to the agency's office on the second floor for what was described as a routine check-in. Only Fidel and his attorney were allowed inside.
About 10 minutes later, the attorney emerged and told the group he was being detained.
Fidel was escorted to a holding cell in the courthouse basement. He later described 20 men being crowded into a small room where they slept sitting up and were served cold, sometimes spoiled food. After four days, he was transferred to the Otay Mesa Detention Center, where he remained for six weeks before being released on Nov. 24.
Parishioners have raised funds for his legal defense and continued accompanying him to later court hearings. Fidel has credited both the Church community and his faith for helping him endure the experience.
His youngest daughter suffers from severe depression that has worsened during the immigration crisis, and his attorney was pursuing a special visa that would allow Fidel to remain in the United States to care for her. As of Oct. 19, there has been no immigration court decision yet regarding Fidel's petition for the special visa. His faith community continues to pray for him and his family.
Bishop Pulido said the FAITH ministry underscores the power of accompaniment.
"Accompanying Fidel and his family reminded me that ministry is not about having all the answers," he said. "Sometimes, the greatest gift we can offer is simply our presence, our prayers, and the assurance that no one has to face suffering alone."
