Christian Pentecostal Church Associate Pastor Gerson Moreno and his congregation members are fighting back against the tactics of immigration officials.

Moreno recently announced the church based in Schaumburg, Illinois would be holding a "know your rights" seminar for congregants after one was tricked into meeting with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials who quickly deported him, WBEZ reports.

ICE Agents Using Any Tactic Necessary

Numerous congregation members were on hand to see immigration agents take Reynold Garcia away one recent Sunday morning as he prepared to attend services. Just hours before that, immigration enforcement agents went to his house while he was away and took his wife and two children. On the morning Garcia was taken into custody, he received several texts from Noel Coria, his wife's cousin, claiming he'd been in a car accident.  

An officer eventually called Garcia to relay the same message and instructed him to meet officers near the church to be taken to Palatine Police Station to see his cousin and fill out paper work as part owner of the vehicle Coria was driving. When officers arrived in unmarked cars, Garcia and onlookers realized something was wrong.

"The very last moment, you know, is when we realized what was happening," said Garcia's friend Haggar Gutierrez. "I go, 'No, no no... this is not police. This is ICE.' But it was too late, because he was already inside the car."

Within 24 hours, Garcia found himself in a Texas detention center with his wife and kids. Moreno said the incident spooked church members because Garcia was taken from a place traditionally considered safe.

Since then, Coria said he did not send any of the text messages about the car accident. He claimed the messages were sent by ICE agents who had stopped him on his way to service.

While stressing the church does not oppose the government or the application of the law, Moreno said people need to be aware of their rights. He and other church leaders are now taking steps to help members of the congregation learn about those rights.

"We're also letting members know that if anyone is calling you or asking you to leave the church, that you need to notify somebody," he said. 

Activist Calling on Obama Administration to end Deportations

Latin Post previously reported a coalition of immigrant, social justice and faith groups have joined forces to call on President Barack Obama's administration to cease deportation raids. The groups recently delivered a petition calling for relief to Central American refugees. In a statement released to Latin Post, the White House confirmed receiving a petition that included more than 130,000 signatures and a letter on behalf of over 75 diverse organizations.

An excerpt of the letter read as follows:

"Reports indicate widespread problems with due process for many of those in immigration proceedings: a large number of individuals with deportation orders never received notification to appear in court, and never had a chance at a fair hearing. This is largely due to the accelerated and aggressive deportation processes put in place recently by your administration. Others had no legal representation on, fending for themselves in a system that is very complicated. President Obama, we have a moral obligation on to provide aide to people seeing violence and these people have a right to make their case. Your administration on must stand up for the rights and the dignity of people seeking refuge in the U.S."

The groups further described the ongoing raids and deportations as inhumane and unacceptable, adding there was no way to undo the trauma inflicted on immigrant families that have suffered the ordeal.

In addition, the United States Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR), an independent and bipartisan federal agency, recently called for the administration to cease the raids. The USCCR published a letter to Obama and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson requesting they end raids that have largely target Central American refugees.

Led by Chairman Martin R. Castro, the USCCR is also requesting legal reviews of cases of immigrants seeking asylum and scheduled for deportation in order to check for violations in the due process. The request also stipulates they should be granted pro bono counsel.

Following the release of the commission's "Statutory Enforcement Report: The State of Civil Rights at Immigration Detention Facilities" last September, Latin Post interviewed Castro.

"We have to understand that these folks are coming here to seek asylum. They're coming to be protected from a situation that in their homeland is untenable," Castro said. "They're not going to want to disappear, they want to have their rights enforced, they want to find their asylum case confirmed."