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

Latino evangelical voters torn between their faith and harsh rhetoric around immigration Pastor Arturo Laguna sings during services at Casa de Adoracion, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024 in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Chris Coduto) Latinos are the fastest-growing group of American evangelicals. According to a 2022 Pew Research Center survey, 15% of Latinos identify as evangelical Protestants. They are an influential voting bloc, particularly in swing states. Both major parties are vying for their votes this election year when margins in the presidential election are expected to be thin. However, Latino Christian faith leaders say their communities don’t feel like they belong in either party. They say community members are torn between their conservative views on social issues such as abortion and their desire to see immigration reform and criminal justice reform.

The Rev. Arturo Laguna leads a largely immigrant church of about 100 followers in Phoenix. His job as a pastor, he says, gets complicated come election season.

Laguna’s church, Casa de Adoracion, is in Arizona — one of seven closely-watched swing states that could possibly decide the next president. It is also a microcosm of the larger Latino evangelical Christian community in the U.S.

The soft-spoken Laguna says, for […]

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