Tennessee diocese clarifies Mass obligations as immigration crackdown empties pews

Amid an immigration enforcement operation in Nashville, Tennessee, that has emptied the pews at several Spanish-speaking parishes, the Diocese of Nashville is reminding faithful that they are not required to attend Sunday Mass if they fear for their well-being according to the church’s own teaching and canon law.

That message, disseminated to diocesan parishes, comes amid a joint operation between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Tennessee Highway Patrol that has so far resulted in 196 arrests in the area.

The sweep is being carried out under ICE’s 287(g) program, referencing a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act that authorises ICE to delegate certain enforcement actions — such as identification and arrest — to state and local law enforcement, who work under ICE oversight. Tennessee Highway Patrol officers have been conducting traffic stops to identify and detain persons in predominantly Latino neighbourhoods, with dozens of individuals later transported by ICE to a federal immigration detention center in Louisiana for processing.

The Trump administration has pledged to enforce mass deportations of immigrants living in the U.S. without legal permission, a policy central to President Donald Trump’s election campaign.