Chicago church moves services online in fear of President-elect Trump's deportation plan

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Donald Trump isn't in president yet, but, already, fears of what he could do as soon as his first day in office have led a small but politically active Pilsen church to go virtual, starting with last week's Christmas services.

It is a promise President-elect Trump made over and over while on the campaign trail.

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"On day one, I will launch the largest deportations of criminal program in American History," he said.

And it is that promise, to deport the more than 11 million people who reside in this country illegally, that led Pilsen's Lincoln United Methodist Church to make the tough decision to move its Spanish-language services online, starting this past Christmas Day.

"My fear is we would be conducting worship service, and agents would come in and start deportations from there," said Pastor Emma Lozano, with Lincoln United Methodist Church.

For a long time now, it's been U.S policy to bar immigration officials from making arrests inside schools, hospitals and churches.

It is that policy that launched the small Pilsen church into the national spotlight in 2006, when it gave sanctuary to Elvira Arellano, an immigrant living in the U.S. without legal permission with a deportation order against her.

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It is that spotlight that makes Lozano fearful of what may happen if that policy is, as has been widely speculated, removed once Trump takes office.

"We're going to worship together but apart. And we're going to keep the faith and the hope. It was just very sad," Lozano said.

Nearly half the congregation is living in the U.S. without legal permission.

Doris Aguirre has been a regular for over 20 years.

Her family, like so many, is mixed. While she and her son do not have legal permission to live in the U.S., her daughters and husband are U.S. citizens.

"It was very strange to have Christmas services at home," Aguirre said in Spanish. "To not be in church, like we usually are, sharing bread or hot chocolate, it was very sad."

How long will the virtual services continue? Four years, after all, is a very long time.

"We're going to go virtual until we can feel safe. I have to have hope and faith," Lozano said.

It's not just the religious services that are going virtual. This church offers its parishioners legal aid following each week's Spanish-language service. That too will be moving online for the foreseeable future.