Despite a cold, dark morning in front of the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations building, the line of immigrants outside was met with warm support from Christian leaders looking to help however they could.
On Monday, pastors working with the Immigrants Are Welcome Here Coalition provided spiritual support, coffee, water, and anything else they could offer to immigrants who had received a notice to come to the ICE facility.
"We have a fundamental belief in the dignity and worth of every human," said Pastor Sarah Robinson, of the Audubon Park Church. She and other coalition members set up a tent next to the growing line just before sunrise.
The coalition has been joining those summoned to the building since April. And since then, Robinson has noticed the line keeps getting bigger. She said in April, there were about 30 people in line. On Monday, there were over 100.
Many of those in line had either legal status in the country through the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or parole after coming from Cuba, Honduras, Nicaragua, or Venezuela (CHNV).
However, the Department of Homeland Security terminated the Cuban Family Reunification Parole, effective Monday. The law had previously made it so Cubans could seek parole in the United States.
Pastor Socrates Perez, who was also outside the facility Monday, said he wasn't sure if it was related, but he had noticed more Cubans in the line, families that fled Cuba because they did not want to be part of the Communist party.
"They fled out of fear from those threats, on programs like CHNV humanitarian parole, which is now canceled," said Perez, who is the pastor at the Horizons West Church. "We have people in some really difficult situations who made a hard decision to come here and did so under legal circumstances."
Among the 100 was Victor Hernandez, a 24-year-old Venezuelan who came to the U.S. under a parole program in 2023 from Venezuela.
Hernandez said living in Venezuela became too dangerous. Since living in the U.S., Hernandez would periodically have to check in with ICE, but he said he feels like how he's treated has changed.
"Before I felt like everyone was treated fairly, but now it feels like I am lesser, or it's more frightening now than it was before," he said, speaking in Spanish.
Hernandez had arrived at the facility with his wife, Ray Diaz. He had all of his paperwork and was hopeful that he would be able to walk out of the building.
"But I still have some fear," he said.
In October, the Supreme Court allowed President Donald Trump's termination of the 2023 Venezuela TPS designation to take immediate effect.
"There are more folks who are coming, who are in legal processes, and then suddenly it's not a process that's legal, and that's happening with certain countries on the list for TPS, like Venezuela," Perez said.
Those standing in line had received a summons via email or text. However, ICE mandates that they bring printed documents of their appointments, as smartphones are not allowed in the building.
"We bought a printer, like a mobile printer, and have printed things for people, or, you know, help them find the nearest place that they could print," Robinson said.
Some people who didn't arrive with family members asked the coalition if they could leave their phones with them. At the time, Robinson said they couldn't do that since their time on the public swale was limited and they had no way of storing the phones. But that's something the coalition is working on ahead of next year, she said.
Robinson and Perez led the group in prayer prior to the ICE building opening, praying for strength and guidance. Afterward, Robinson walked down the line offering ceramic butterflies – a symbol, she said, of immigration.
"We encourage them to keep the butterfly with them in their pocket, in their hand, so that even though we cannot go in there with them, they know that people who care for them, who are praying for them, are with them. Our hearts. Our love," she said.
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