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A Kansas City, Kansas, church has moved its services underground in order to protect illegal immigrants from federal immigration enforcement, according to a new report.
"It is ironic and shameful, is it not, that the safe spaces we call sanctuaries are no longer safe spaces," Rick Behrens, senior pastor at Grandview Park Presbyterian Church, told the Kansas Reflector. "Because we are under attack from our own government."
According to the Reflector, services will now be held in a church basement. The story continued, saying that Behrens "moved services to the locked basement in response to the administration’s decision to allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to enter churches."
In January 2025, the Trump administration rescinded a Biden-era policy that restricted immigration enforcement actions in or near houses of worship, schools, hospitals and other protected areas. At the time, a DHS spokesperson said the move would empower law enforcement and stop criminals from "being able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest."
In addition to moving services, the church has also become a training hub for community activists, according to the report, teaching volunteers how to "spot immigration enforcement officers, accompany immigrants, and monitor the courts."
A priest holds a "Families Are Sacred" sign as Department of Homeland Security (DHS) police stand guard at a federal building during an interfaith prayer walk. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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Behrens was among several faith leaders and immigration activists who spoke at an interfaith prayer vigil last week, encouraging larger churches to take action as Kansas City prepares to host six matches during the FIFA World Cup this summer.
Other community leaders have also taken steps in anticipation of possible ICE raids.
Jess Ferrell, executive director of the Center of Grace community center, explained she organized a group of volunteers to accompany 48 children back to their homes after she said she received an anonymous tip that ICE agents would conduct a raid at the church’s parent pickup one day.
"We realized we do not have a way to safely get (the kids) off our property home with their parents, who are at work, because armed agents might show up and try to kidnap their parents in front of them, using children as bait," Ferrell told the Reflector.
The Department of Homeland Security has lodged an immigration detainer, according to officials. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
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Jacob Poindexter, senior minister at Wichita United Church of Christ, framed the situation as a moral choice between supporting immigrants and opposing federal immigration enforcement.
"Which side are you going to be on? Which side are we going to take a risk for?" he asked. "Because you’re taking a risk, no matter which side you choose. If you do nothing, you are taking a risk. If you do something, at least it’s a worthwhile risk."
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People attend a demonstration at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport in St. Paul, Minnesota, amid a surge of federal immigration authorities in the area. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
In January, plans to build an ICE detention center in Kansas City were halted after the Kansas City Council passed a five-year ban on permits for non-municipal detention centers, following community backlash, according to KCUR.
DHS did not immediately return Fox News Digital's request for comment.
