The Uncommon Faith of Jose Torres

by

Louisiana Annual Conference | January 30, 2024

The remarkable thing about Jose Torres is not the series of obstacles he encountered in seeking a better life; it is his uncommon faith in God that pushed him through those obstacles just to get to a place most of us take for granted.

Since escaping the murderous streets of gang-controlled El Salvador in 2005, Jose was robbed on a train, plucked from the Rio Grande, arrested and released by immigration authorities, and forced into free servitude in Texas before escaping to New Orleans, where he was threatened with deportation.

This month, Jose’s faith and perseverance were rewarded when he received a green card, allowing him to work legally and support his wife and two children as a permanent United States citizen. It never would have happened without his full measure of faith and a lot of help from First Grace United Methodist Church in New Orleans.

Jose arrived in New Orleans to work in construction after Hurricane Katrina. He got married, started a family, and applied for a special visa for victims of human trafficking.

As his visa application was going through the system, federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents told him in November 2017 to prepare for deportation, even though the judicial case was active.

“He had an active case for a path to citizenship, but ICE said, ‘We don’t care about the court case, we don’t care that he’s winning the court case,’” said Rev. Shawn Anglim, pastor of First Grace UMC. “ICE made it very clear, ‘We’re going to deport you.’”

Rev. Anglim offered First Grace as a literal sanctuary for Jose, who accepted the offer and moved into the church.

“If you’re a church, you’re a sanctuary,” Rev. Anglim said. “When we say it publicly, we know that’s going to mean something in the public eye. It’s going to be a light to those who really need a light.”

Jose entered the Canal Street church, where he was protected from arrest and deportation. The federal government’s policy is not to pursue arrests in “sensitive” places such as churches.

“This all sounds good,” Rev. Anglim said, “but remember, when someone comes to your church for sanctuary, they’re not going anywhere.”

“I was here at the church, 24/7, the whole time,” Jose recalled. His wife and daughters remained at their rental house in nearby Gretna.

“ICE went to the house, looking for me. They put pressure on my family. I lived in fear, to be honest with you. That’s why I came to the church. I didn’t have a choice.”

Seven months later, Jose did have a choice, albeit a tough one.. An ICE agent called Jose at the church and told him that if he went to their offices and agreed to a monthly check-in system, he could leave the church, return to live with his wife and daughters and would not be deported. Jose told the ICE officer he would have to think about it.

Jose wasn’t sure. He desperately missed living with his family, and the offer was tempting. However, there was nothing to stop ICE from arresting him as soon as he went to their office.

“I went to my room, and I cried, and I prayed because I know as soon as they close that door, you belong to them,” Jose said.

“I said, ‘God, I put my life in your hands.’”

Jose asked Rev. Anglim to take him to the ICE office.

They walked in and sat in a waiting room until Jose’s name was called.

Rev. Anglim waited and watched Jose go through a metal door that clanged shut behind him.

“They locked the door, and they had two desks in the room,” Jose said. “They had paperwork to remove people from this country. There were people with handcuffs. The ICE people said, ‘Sit down, be quiet, don’t talk to anybody.’”

Jose did as he was told, unsure of what was about to happen. Another door opened, and another officer appeared, herding a group of handcuffed immigrants into a waiting van.

Meanwhile, Rev. Anglim was in the waiting area. Since the door had shut, he had no way of knowing what was going on inside the office.

“I kept praying, ‘God make yourself known. Show your face!’” he said. He continued praying. “I am trusting you. Jose has put all his trust in you!”

Back in the office, the handcuffed immigrants had been loaded into the van outside the door. Jose said the driver reappeared and said he had room “for one more” and pointed to Jose.

The other officers waived the driver off.

Jose was not going to be deported.

A few minutes later, Jose walked back into the waiting room, where a jubilant Rev. Anglim greeted him.

“I didn't know heaven's door was a metal prison door, but it felt that way on that day when it swung open, and Jose walked through it,” Rev. Anglim said. “To God be the glory for today, and thank you, Jesus, for letting me be a witness! Today, I have seen the face of God, and it looks like Jose Torres.”

Jose was equally ecstatic, but a touch leery.

“My heart was, oh, my goodness! I trusted God!” he said. “But I stayed at the church for one more week because I couldn’t believe it. I felt safe in the church.”

"When you put your life in God’s hands, His time is your time."

– Jose Torres

Eventually, Jose moved out of First Grace and back into the house with his family.

“I never thought about the time, how much time I was gone,” he said. “All I knew is that when you put your life in God’s hands, his time is your time.”

After he returned home, Jose frequented the church during the week and began to help with minor repairs.

“He no longer needed sanctuary,” Rev. Anglim said. “He helped out, and then he started working part-time with our facility person. He can fix anything. He is just a blessing in the building.”

The full-time facility employee left, and Rev. Anglim offered the job to Jose. Now, Jose is the head of facilities at the church that served as his 24/7 home for seven months.

“I do anything, plumbing, electrical, paint, floors,” Jose said. “I am so happy to do it. This church knows me.”

In 2019, Jose received his long-sought visa. Last year, Jose and his wife, Deiny, bought their first house. Then, on January 3, Jose received his green card.

Jose remembers the path it took to get him where he is, “but I don’t have to think about problems, now. All I have to do is be a better person each day, provide food, and take care of my family, like any father. This church is also my family, it is a blessing to me and my family. We are brothers and sisters, no matter where you come from.”

Rev. Anglim said Jose endured because his “faith in God, in the reality of God’s hand in his life, was the only place he put his confidence. I saw it again and again, the confidence that Jose had of the reality of God’s hand in his life.”

There’s a lesson there for everyone, Rev. Anglim said.

“If you want to have a personal relationship with Jesus, then have a personal relationship with the poor and disinherited on a daily/weekly basis,” he said. "Your actions will change. Your rules will change. Your heart and mind will not be conformed to this world but transformed and renewed. Your faith will make you alive – powerful – and you will find the joy of the gospel and a strange peace that surpasses all understanding.”

Mark Lambert writes for Louisiana Conference Communications. This article is republished with permission from the conference website.