Latino evangelical voters are torn between their faith and the harsh rhetoric around immigration

PHOENIX (AP) – The Rev. Arturo Laguna leads a largely immigrant church of about 100 followers in Phoenix. His job as a pastor, he says, becomes complicated come election season.

Laguna’s church, Casa de Adoracion, is in Arizona – one of seven closely watched swing states that could potentially determine the next president. It is also a microcosm of the larger Latino evangelical Christian community in the US

The soft-spoken Laguna says voting for members of his congregation is “not an intellectual matter.”

“It’s a matter of faith and spirituality,” he said. “We are in a complicated situation because on the one hand we are against abortion, and on the other hand we are concerned about the harsh rhetoric around immigration and the lack of reforms. It is a difficult choice.”

This is not a new dilemma for Latino evangelicals, who are growing in number even as the mainline white Protestant denominations have steadily declined in number. Latino evangelicals are an influential voting bloc. According to faith and community leaders, both parties have tried to appeal to them over the past two election cycles — neither with notable success.

A 2022 Pew Research Center Survey showed that 15% of Latinos in the US identify as evangelical Protestants. They are the fastest growing group of all American evangelicals. About half of Latino evangelicals identified as Republicans or as independents who lean right, while 44% identified as Democrats or as independents who lean to the left.

While U.S. Latinos generally prefer Democratic candidates, a majority of Latino evangelicals supported Donald Trump in 2020. According to AP Votecast, about six in 10 Latino evangelical voters supported Trump in 2020, while four in 10 supported Biden .

A sofa questionnaire Last month’s release showed that about two-thirds of Latino Protestants planned to support Trump this year, while about two-thirds of Hispanic Catholics and religiously unaffiliated Hispanics said they supported Vice President Kamala Harris.

Agustin Quiles, president and founder of Mission Talk, a Florida-based Latino Christian social justice organization, says competing priorities are leaving some Latino evangelicals feeling politically homeless. Some are torn between their conservative views on social issues such as abortion and their desire to see immigration and criminal justice reform, he said.

While many are offended by Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric, Quiles added, Democrats still haven’t figured out how to have conversations with the community on issues like abortion.

“So there’s a lot of silence among Latino evangelicals right now,” he said. “That doesn’t mean they won’t vote. There is just a lot of dissatisfaction.”

To understand Latino evangelicals, it’s important to understand their origins, says Elizabeth Conde-Frazier, a scholar with the Association of Hispanic Theological Association. The word “evangelico” refers to Protestants or those who are not Catholic, and includes a wide range of churches, cultures and traditions, she said.

“When immigrants come here and need to reestablish themselves, Protestant, Pentecostal and mainstream churches become places where people create a new sense of community and family,” Conde-Frazier said. “People are trying to understand what life should be like in this country.”

With white Protestantism in decline and several major denominations competing for the loyalty of these communities, second-generation Latino Christians became more part of the dominant culture and often embraced the fervor of the white evangelical church, she said.

“To gain a sense of power and acceptance, Latino churches began joining (white conservative) evangelical churches in the US, distancing themselves from their ‘evangelico’ roots,” Conde-Frazier said. Now, she added, some Latino evangelicals are increasingly at odds with their white counterparts for being pro-immigration.

Quiles says that in white evangelical churches, where Latinos, including undocumented immigrants, are increasing in number, there is a palpable dissonance between what is said in the pulpit and how those in the pews perceive it.

“Just because a pastor promotes the anti-immigrant agenda does not mean members receive it,” he said. “They selectively get what they want from education.”

The Rev. Juan Garcia, who leads a 100-member Hispanic ministry at First Baptist Church in Newport News, Va., said the word “evangelico” represents the Gospel to him. He says the “evangelical” label feels tainted because of its association with one political party.

“Jesus is not a Democrat or a Republican,” he said. “Some see their Christian values represented by the Republican Party and others see some of their values represented by the Democrats. But neither party is essentially Christian.”

Garcia also experiences that feeling of political homelessness.

“I have a candidate I can vote for, but no political party I would like to belong to,” he said. “The most important value we must live by as Christians is love – love our neighbors, the poor, those fleeing persecution.”

Garcia said he has his “opinions and inclinations,” but he does not consider the candidate he favors to be blameless. He warns his flock: “If one is antichrist, the other is not Christ.”

The Rev. Jacqueline Tavarez, pastor of the Pentecostal Church of God in Raleigh, North Carolina, says her diverse congregation cares more about the values a political party represents than the face or voice of the party.

“Our community doesn’t care about politics,” she said. “They care about laws that impact our communities in terms of jobs, opportunities and education. And they view abortion and transgender laws as an attack on family values. When they see the ballot, they don’t see Trump or (Harris). They see what the party supports and how the community will do under a candidate.”

The Rev. Lori Tapia, the Arizona-based national pastor and president of Obra Hispana, Disciples of Christ, said politics is not typically integrated into the life of the Latino evangelical church. Unlike white evangelical congregations, political involvement happens more organically, she said.

“Here the compassion piece is always stronger and there is a desire to see leaders who prioritize compassionate politics,” Tapia said. “There is also frustration over slow progress on critical issues. Anyone can pitch a story or a political campaign. But where does it manifest itself in the lives of people who are struggling?”

Bishop Angel Marcial, who leads the Church of God that oversees more than 15,000 churches, says some of the most important issues for his congregants are health care education, public safety and housing.

“Voting brings respect in this country and provides opportunities for marginalized communities,” he said. “As pastors, we don’t tell people who to vote for, but we do tell them about the platforms that best fit the values of the church and the needs of our communities.”

John P. Tuman, a professor of political science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, notes that in Las Vegas, Latino evangelicals who join larger evangelical churches with English and Spanish services tend to be conservative. However, communities that form their own congregations and hold services in Spanish and Otomi, an indigenous language in Mexico, are likely to have more diverse political views.

“They have historically tended to support immigration reform with a path to citizenship, along with other elements of a social justice message that resonates more with Democratic candidates,” he said.

Nevada is also an important swing state.

Pastor Willie Pagan, who leads the 700-strong Iglesia de Dios in North Las Vegas, which is part of the Church of God, said the economy is a top issue for his congregants.

“Yes, people are concerned about immigration, but those who are already here want the economy to be stable,” he said. “They see homelessness and crime increasing in Las Vegas. Our church was in a rough neighborhood, which has become even rougher lately.”

Pagan says some in his congregation believe they were better off financially and more secure during the Trump administration, and want to vote Republican to uphold their conservative religious values. But there are also people who fear they or their loved ones could be deported, he said.

“The struggle is real.”