In an effort to better share the experiences of the Pittsburgh area’s Spanish-speaking community, PublicSource is partnering with Pittsburgh Latino Magazine and journalist Freddy Potoy Rosales from Nicaragua to bring Spanish-first reporting to readers in both Spanish and English. Read this story in Spanish here.
Pastor Nilsson Devia arrived in the United States from Colombia 10 years ago with his family, applied for asylum and has yet to have his case resolved. Now, the leader of the Latin American United Pentecostal Church (IPUL-Pittsburgh) is lamenting the persecution he says the Latino community is experiencing amid a broad immigration crackdown.
“We lived through the first Trump administration and we are living through this second one. We see the aggressiveness with which the immigration issue is being handled and the impact it has had on the Latino community specifically; our church members have felt frightened,” said the 46-year-old pastor.
Devia recalled that “in the first weeks of (President Donald Trump’s new) administration you could see a decrease in congregational attendance above 40%.” Several church members have opted to use social networks due to the fear of leaving their homes, he said, but others frequent the temple three times a week because they consider it a safe place.
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