Christian Mission Organization Encourages Illegal Immigrants To Hide Identity From ICE

A missions arm of a conservative Protestant denomination is facing criticism after it encouraged illegal immigrants to mislead federal immigration authorities and shared resources from groups like the American Civil Liberties Union. 

Mission to North America, a subsidiary of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), shared a resource page offering legal advice to illegal immigrants and opining on Trump administration immigration policy. The page began making the rounds on X Tuesday after it was shared by the account “Woke Preacher Clips.” PCA removed the page several hours later following criticism from conservative leaders and members of the denomination. 

The resource page, called “Refugee & Immigrant Ministry for Churches: Help Immigrants Facing 2025 Policy Changes,” was first posted in January. Its decidedly left-wing gloss on immigration is out of step with the PCA’s conservative congregants, nearly two thirds of whom backed President Donald Trump in 2020. The page refers to illegal immigrants as “undocumented,” a term legacy media outlets and leftist organizations use to downplay illegal immigration. 

“The average undocumented person has been present in the US for more than a decade,” the now-deleted resource page said. “Some may not have documents giving them permission to remain in the US.”

Other recommendations from the guide include hiding one’s country of origin from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and reporting immigration enforcement raids. 

“If you do not have lawful status, it is recommended not to carry documentation showing your country of origin. Do not carry false immigration documents,” the page said, using language from the non-profit organization, World Relief. 

Related to this advice, the page offers guidance for what to do if illegal immigrants are contacted by ICE, saying they should not disclose their country of origin. 

“Show ICE your identity document (if you do not have lawful status, show an identity document that does not include your country of birth or citizenship),” the resource page said. 

It also coached illegals on how to minimize their chances of being deported. 

“If you were granted parole or have been in the U.S. for less than two years and you fear returning to your home country, tell the officer you are afraid to go back,” the resource page said. “Collect strong evidence that you have been present in the U.S. for at least two years. It is important to select documents that do not mention your country of birth or your immigration status, as that information could be used against you.”

Additionally, it recommended that they ask their pastor or others if they had a plan for if an immigration enforcement officer showed up. 

Other guidance included not disclosing any criminal history to ICE and advising illegals to consult with a lawyer about whether they should turn themselves in an attempt to gain asylum. 

“Report raids: If your loved one was apprehended during an immigration raid to a workplace or other location, report this to your city or state’s rapid response network, if there is one,” the guidance said, pointing them to radical leftist groups like the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.

Mission to North America also weighed in public policy, claiming that a president “does not have the authority to end birthright citizenship,” which is currently being litigated in federal courts. 

The guide points to a number of outside groups, most of which advocate for far-Left politics and many of which oppose Christian values. For example, the page links to the ACLU which promotes abortion and transgender ideology as well as the Immigrant Legal Resource Center. That group has decried Trump’s immigration plans as “horrific” and suggested that the Trump administration is “fascist.” 

Many leaders and members of PCA churches voiced their opposition to the guide.

“A shameful betrayal of America by my allegedly conservative evangelical denomination,” wrote former Trump administration official and PCA member Jeremy Carl. “This is not what church members want.”

PCA Pastor Zachary Groff, a member of a permanent committee that oversees the Mission to North America, said that the guidance was under review and told The Daily Wire that leadership took it down at the advice of the committee. He said that while the committee had broad oversight of Mission to North America, its day-to-day actions and publications were controlled by its staff. 

“What Mission to North America does in terms of its line level personnel, its processes and procedures, and its publications would be handled at the staff level day to day,” Groff told The Daily Wire. “The Presbyterian Church in America as a church has no place offering legal advice, particularly in a sensitive matter and specialized matter like immigration law, on any of its publications.” 

Before the whole resource page was deleted, Mission to North America deleted a section of the page where congregants were encouraged to call their representative and ask them to oppose Trump’s pause on refugee resettlement, as documented by Pastor Ryan Biese of First Presbyterian Church in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. 

The guidance was posted by the MNA Refuge and Immigrant Ministry, which is currently led by Angela Pacey. In January, Pacey, in her official capacity, signed a petition opposing Trump’s refugee policy. Her name appears to have since been removed. Neither she nor MNA Director Irwyn Ince responded to a request for comment. 

Pat Hatch, who is listed as the director emeritus of the refuge and immigrant ministry, told The Daily Wire she prayed that “out of any controversy would come a stronger commitment to serving refugees and immigrants.”

As the PCA reserves all official leadership positions in the church to ordained men, it is unusual for the denomination to sanction unordained individuals who have not been theologically examined to direct large ministries. 

Groff told The Daily Wire that while the situation was created by staff at the Mission to North America, it would be addressed by the committee and the broader denomination, which has complete control over the body. 

“This is the General Assembly’s responsibility to address and we are going to address it through the permanent committee of Mission to North America and at the 52nd General Assembly of the PCA this summer,” he said. 

He said the guidance was a “failure” on behalf of the oversight committee, but that it could be a learning opportunity. Groff said the PCA should not be affiliated with groups like World Relief or the ACLU, which push a “politically progressive agenda.”

Bryan Chapell, who organizes and corresponds on behalf of the PCA, told concerned members concerned about the guidance that they were correct, according to a message viewed by The Daily Wire. 

“Your concern is well justified. Mission to North America leadership was not aware of the immigrant counsel that was posted by lower-level personnel and has removed it. PCA Committees and Agencies do not give legal advice and should not,” he said. 

Pastor Biese, who hosts the Westminster Standard Podcast, told The Daily Wire that there needed to be a leadership change at Mission to North America. He said there was a major problem with the culture of the organization if “junior level staffers don’t realize that posting legal advice and links to political advocacy on the denomination’s website is a problem.”

He also said it was “reckless” for the guidance to tell illegal immigrants how they “might get around the law.”

“Encouraging folks to deceive the government is not something the church needs to be doing. We operate by an open statement of the truth,” he said. “That is contrary to who we are.” 

He said in no other case of breaking the law would the church urge its members to conceal their crimes. 

The promotion of a leftist immigration agenda appears to not be limited to just the guidance from the Mission to North America. An email from February 4 sent out to churches from Hispanic Ministries Director Hernando Sáenz-Oggioni said that the denomination was going to be hiring an immigration lawyer. 

“MNA Hispanic Ministries is working to secure a Spanish-speaking immigration attorney who can educate immigrants on their rights,” the email, which was obtained by The Daily Wire, shows. “The process may take time due to federal funding cuts, but we will update you once we secure a trusted facilitator.”

The email also included an example “what to do” sheet if a person was contacted by ICE and an example letter for “at risk” congregants. 

Biese said that the whole situation shows a wide mission drift by Mission to North America, which he said should focus on spreading Christian teaching. He said he suspected that the efforts on immigration were a feeble effort to make Christianity compatible with the political Left. 

“The mission of the church is to make disciples by teaching them all that Christ has commanded them and baptizing them,” he said. “None of what was on that page is involved with making disciples or baptizing people.”