Evangelical leaders challenge Trump’s immigration and foreign aid policies amid calls for unity

President Donald Trump called for unity during his speech at the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday morning — largely steering clear from addressing controversies around his actions cracking down on immigration and paralyzing federal efforts to distribute international aid.

But on both these issues, some evangelical leaders are speaking out against these policies, even though Trump has enjoyed broad support from the evangelical community.

The Rev. Gabriel Salguero, who is the president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, was among the faith leaders in attendance at the breakfast. He had been meeting with senators and government leaders since Wednesday, he told NBC News, explaining to them how the pause on international aid and the gutting of USAID, which distributes these funds, jeopardizes their missionary work abroad.

“We know the collective impact this has on saving lives and on vulnerable children and families,” said Salguero, who has done missionary work in Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and Guatemala.

Salguero has also seen how international aid also plays a role in preventing migration to the U.S. “If we’re concerned with immigration, shouldn’t we also be concerned about how foreign aid helps people stay in their country and flourish,” he said.

“These things are not disconnected,” said Salguero, who stressed he’s a registered independent and does not endorse candidates.

A pastor at The Gathering Place, a Latino-led multiethnic church in Orlando, Florida, Salguero said teachers who go to his church have told him about the fear and anxiety they’re seeing in students from families with mixed immigration status since Trump signed a flurry of immigration-related executive orders on ending birthright citizenship and rescinding policies that limited immigration enforcement actions in sensitive places like schools, churches and hospitals.

Since stepping into office two weeks ago, Trump also put an end to a number of immigration processes meant to help migrants seek asylum in the U.S. legally, such as the CBP One app, refugee programs and temporary protected status.

Salguero said these immigration actions are sending “an inconsistent message” and pastors like himself “are trying to seek clarity.”

“We need to deal with criminals and violent criminals in ways that keep our community safe. We support that,” Salguero said. “On the other hand, they’re passing memos and executive orders that are way beyond that scope.”

He also said that “if it’s true that the administration is worried about violent criminals, why did they pardon over a thousand people who acted violently in the Capitol? … Why then try to rescind the 14th Amendment, depriving children of birthright citizenship? They’re not violent criminals, they haven’t been born. They have a right to be citizens.”

Walter Kim, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, served as a pastor in multiethnic and Korean immigrant churches for nearly 30 years before joining the association full time.

In that role, he said he’s seen how congregations at these churches worry about “an overreaction” from immigration enforcement agents, potentially disturbing their place of worship “in the pursuit of undocumented criminal influence” and undermining the sanctity of their churches, Kim told NBC News.

“Should churches be law abiding? Absolutely. Should they be cooperating with agencies to ensure that criminal influences are dealt with? Absolutely,” Kim said. “But by and large, those communities that are experiencing fear and not going to church is far beyond the very small portion of the immigrant, undocumented criminal segment.”

Both Kim and Salguero believe that the policy changes making churches vulnerable to immigration raids should be reconsidered since they’re curtailing the religious freedom of their congregations.

Ongoing support for Trump

Self-identified evangelical protestants account for about a quarter of the U.S. population. And as a voting bloc, they were crucial in electing Trump in November, according to a postelection survey from the Public Religion Research Institute. With people of color making up nearly 1 in 3 evangelicals, strong support for Trump among Latino evangelicals helped him make inroads with the overall Hispanic electorate. Fifteen percent of U.S. Latinos identify as evangelical Protestants.

The Rev. Samuel Rodríguez remains supportive of the president and his actions.

A pastor at the New Season megachurch in California and the president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, Rodríguez participated in a convening of evangelical leaders last week to affirm Trump’s immigration agenda.

Speaking with NBC News from Israel on Thursday, Rodríguez said he’s still not worried about churches being targeted for immigration raids based on frequent conversations his organization has with the Trump administration.

In those conversations, they have also received assurances that Trump is actually prioritizing the detention and deportation of undocumented immigrants involved in “nefarious activities,” Rodríguez said. “Unfortunately, there may be some collateral damage.”

“The collateral damage may be individuals who are here undocumented, who have been here for years, and yet, they are in the same room or the same house as any individuals who have engaged in criminal activity,” Rodríguez said. “There’s a possibility they may likewise be deported.”

NBC News has reported that nearly half of those detained in recent raids don’t have criminal records, and some of those caught in such immigration enforcement actions have already been released.

Rodríguez said he agrees with the moves Trump has made to cut back pathways for legal immigration and asylum, as he sees them as steps in the long road toward revamping the nation’s immigration system.

About Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship, Rodríguez said it’s mainly meant to send a message to anyone motivated by the “idea of coming into this country for the purpose of giving birth in America to create some sort of connection, legally, that will inevitably provide a pathway for legalization.”

“But I do think the priority is and should continue to be the immediate deportation of individuals who have come into this country for the purpose of just engaging in criminal activity and behavior,” Rodríguez added. “These individuals should be deported because they’re jeopardizing our communities as we speak.”

This is one of the key points most evangelical leaders seem to agree on, as well as on securing the border and strengthening national security.

For Kim and Salguero, safeguarding the distribution of U.S. foreign aid and focusing on commonsense immigration reform can effectively get to the root of the real problems that are key for national security, they said.

Both Kim and Rodríguez said they welcome improvements in assessing the quality of the work being done internationally with U.S. foreign aid.

But while Kim believes there’s more harm being done by paralyzing such federal efforts, Rodríguez thinks the stop-work orders in place on this issue are necessary to “address the underlying structural issues” of the federal agency overseeing such aid.

“We’re the most charitable, compassionate, transformative nation on the planet. Even with all of our shortcomings, we do good around the world,” Rodríguez said. “I do believe it’s important for us to continue to do good.”