ICE raids across neighborhoods in U.S. have made people extremely anxious. Recently, a post on Reddit showcased a parking lot escalation that broke out between a pastor from San Diego and a Hispanic woman. The dispute took place right outside the New Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church. Its recorded footage has now found a spot on an ‘ICE Raids’ subreddit, where users broadly discuss such matters.
As the video begins, the pastor, dressed in a formal suit, becomes agitated during the confrontation. The pastor suddenly addresses another man next to him with the words, “She may have paid for it– let ICE, call ICE on them.”
The woman, who had been recording the incident, stayed calm throughout. She claps back at him with facts and says, “Ok, call ICE, I have papers.” She then turns the camera to her surroundings, giving a clear view of where the dispute was taking place.
On the other hand, the pastor, by this time, appears to have lowered his voice slightly while the woman records, saying, “He said call ICE.” The woman also did not forget to refer to the other Chinese man, who was right next to the pastor and seemed to be supportive of his uncalled-for threat.
he video quickly went viral because of the pastor’s unexpected conduct. Social media users condemned the pastor’s ICE threat as typically hypocritical and un-Christian.
A handle named South Gate Real Talk re-shared the video on Instagram. The text on the top of the video shows that the pastor stepped out of the church to complain to the woman about her car blocking the road. But it soon turned drastic when the pastor threatened to report to the ICE. The incident took place on November 30.
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The comment section of this post has been filled with critics calling out the unruly behavior of someone in a pastoral role. A netizen commented, “Never ceases to amaze me how these so-called church leaders preach one thing and do the complete opposite.” Another social media user wrote, “Yes, call ice, and you will be going back to Africa, and the other dude, by the looks of his eyes, I believe you’re going back to China, mah fren.” A third netizen penned, “We all know they are nothing but charlatans after their congregations’ money.”
Moreover, since the fight broke out in the parking lot of the New Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, people are also posting one-star Yelp reviews of the institution. Many have criticized and wondered whether this was the kind of conduct the church promotes among its pastors.
One Yelp user criticized the pastor’s condescending handling of a stressful situation. The user wrote, “It is truly disheartening to witness a grown man–especially one preaching and attempting to spread the Word of God and His love–handle a stressful situation by threatening another human being with deportation.”
Meanwhile, the Church has reached out for a statement on the issue. However, they have not responded to the incident with any clarification. Considering the stress and anxiety that an ICE raid comes along with, the unjustified behavior of the pastor further deepens fear amongst people. For those unfamiliar, any unexpected encounter with ICE can have serious consequences.
