The congregation at First & Summerfield United Methodist Church sang a new hymn on the first Sunday after President Donald Trump took office. It was called “A Place Called Home.”
First & Summerfield sits on the corner of the New Haven Green, a spacious meeting place in the center of the city, bordered by Yale University and City Hall. The Green frequently hosts protests — and it’s not uncommon for unhoused people to spend the night there.
“First and Summerfield was called for a while the conscience on the Green,” pastor Jamie Michaels said. “For generations, the pastors and the people of this congregation have stood for what we believe God stands for: justice for all people.”
In the first Trump administration — before Reverend Michaels came here — the church heard from an Ecuadorian immigrant named Marco Antonio Reyes Alvarez. He was facing an immediate deportation order that would have torn him apart from his three children.
“So we converted the parlor, which used to be a meeting and office space, into an apartment, a living space,” Michaels said. “Over the eight years now, we’ve hosted a variety of folks because we believe this should be a place where all people can be Whole.”
The Reyes case drew widespread media attention. But church doors may not hold back ICE agents any longer, so churches will need to avoid that kind of attention so they don’t draw raids upon themselves. Reverend Michaels says they can help in other ways, too. They’ve been meeting on conference calls with churches nationwide, planning and giving each other advice.
“So what does it look like to go with somebody to immigration court, to listen alongside them, and to kind of help them understand or even just be just a helping hand, just a calming presence next to them in this really scary moment,” Michaels said.
The Trump administration is also trying to threaten local leaders into working with immigration agents. But some legal experts say churches and other once-safe spaces may still be able to count on support from their cities — in cases like New Haven, where they’re vocally sanctuary or welcoming cities.
“It’s just crazy to me to think that anyone would think it’s appropriate to target children that are going to school or target people that are trying to worship or seek medical attention,” New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said. “But that’s the reality of the leadership we see right now.As mayor, I can’t promise safety for anyone who is an immigrant from ICE, but what I can do is continue to assert our values as a welcoming city.”
Rev. Jamie Michaels said the Bible isn’t always clear about the specific problems of the 21st century.
“The Bible doesn’t speak directly to AI or social networks, right? But the Bible is really clear about how we should be treating strangers and immigrants and wanderers, the people who are most vulnerable in our society,” Michaels said.
For example, in Leviticus: “The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt.”
This story was first published Jan. 31, 2025 by WSHU.