Numerous faith leaders across the U.S. say the immigration crackdown launched by President Donald Trump’s new administration has sown fear within their migrant-friendly congregations.

So many people got sick, so many died, and these faith leaders couldn’t hug the ailing and the grieving, or hold their hands. Amid the grief and anxiety, these faith leaders showed resilience and found reasons for hope as they re-imagined their mission. Its leaders say more than 60 members of the congregation of about 800 have died of COVID-19. For Esther Roman, a chaplain at New York’s Mount Sinai Morningside hospital, the pandemic has entailed ministering to one grieving family after another. Johnson said his church responded to the pandemic by working with local leaders to provide personal protective equipment and COVID-19 testing for the community.

Joseph Dutan comforts his niece, Valerie Dutan, at the funeral of his father, Manuel Dutan, at St. John's Cemetery in the Queens borough of New York. Within one month, Dutan experienced the loss of his father and a fellow cleric, whom he considered a mentor. “Father Joseph was one of the first people that we called. Days later, Dutan’s 56-year-old father, Manuel, was rushed to New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan. His heart is slowly, slowly stopping.”On May 5, Manuel Dutan died.

Jorge Ortiz-Garay stands with congregants during a Migration Day Mass at St. Brigid Church in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Like other churches around the globe, the pews of St. Brigid were empty that day; dozens prayed with him from home, via livestream. Erik Chauca, 18, a former sacristan, credits ‘Father Jorge’ with encouraging him to return to college after he quit school. I need to you to sing ‘The Exsultet’ (The Easter Proclamation).” ‘Father Jorge’ wrote back: “‘You’re right! Hahaha!’”Hours later, Ortiz died.