From the Pulpit to the Capitol: A Pastor’s Mission to Defend His Congregants Detained By ICE

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You may have seen the video.

An Iranian Christian woman convulses from a panic attack as immigration officers detain her husband. Her cries pierce the air as masked agents lead him away — not from a crime scene, but from a sidewalk in Los Angeles.

They had fled religious persecution in Iran. As devout Christians, they had endured fear and discrimination and sought safety in a country they believed would welcome them. They had followed every legal step in the U.S. asylum process, believing that doing things the “right way” would protect them.

But instead of safety, they found handcuffs.
Instead of compassion, they found silence.

The video quickly spread online. And behind the camera stood their pastor.

A Shepherd Watching His Flock Suffer

Pastor Ara Torosian of Cornerstone Church in West Los Angeles was there when it happened — not just as a witness, but as their shepherd. These were not anonymous faces to him. They were members of his congregation. People he had baptized, counseled, visited in hospital rooms and prayed with over meals. He knew their stories. He had seen their faith.

And in their cries, he heard echoes of his own past.

Years earlier, Pastor Ara had fled Iran himself. Imprisoned and tortured for smuggling Bibles, he lived under house arrest before finally seeking refuge in the United States in 2010. He, too, once longed for a country that would protect the persecuted. And for a while, he believed he had found it.

But that day in Los Angeles, he watched something break — not just in the immigration system, but in the moral promise of protection. This family had done everything right. They had come in peace, seeking due process. Yet without warning, they were taken. Previously, another family from his church, including their young daughter, never even had the chance to say goodbye to Pastor Ara before they were led away immediately after attending their immigration court check-in.

And so, Pastor Ara did what Christians have always done in moments of deep injustice.

He fasted.
He prayed.
And he spoke up.

Fasting Before Advocacy: Echoing the Courage of Esther

When the biblical Queen Esther learned her people were in danger, she didn’t rush immediately to the king. Instead, she stopped. She called for a fast. For three days, she and her people sought the Lord — repenting, pleading, preparing. Only then did she go to speak truth to power.

Esther didn’t begin with politics. She began with presence before God.

That same conviction guided Pastor Ara.

From July 21 to 24, he stood outside the White House in Lafayette Park. He fasted and prayed for three days, lifting up the names and faces of the families who had been detained. Between quiet hours on the lawn, he moved through the halls of Capitol Hill. With support from World Relief’s advocacy team, he met with lawmakers and officials, advocating with gentleness and urgency. Pastor Ara reflected:

“This was one of the most humbling and powerful experiences of my life. It was my first time in Washington, D.C., and my first time standing in public for days, pleading for the freedom and dignity of Iranian Christian refugees in ICE detention. I came feeling small, like my voice wouldn’t matter. But I witnessed how God honors even the weakest cry when it comes from a place of brokenness and compassion.”

Advocacy Isn’t About Influence. It’s About Obedience.

We often think advocacy is for the influential — for experts, politicians or public figures. But biblical advocacy belongs to those who are willing to be faithful.

“Advocacy isn’t about being loud,” Pastor Ara said. “It’s about being faithful. When pastors stand up, the church becomes a refuge, not just a building. And that’s what the world needs right now: refuges of justice, compassion and hope.”

He didn’t see his role in D.C. as political. He saw it as pastoral. His fasting wasn’t a performance — it was an act of worship. Like Esther, he stood in the gap. Like Moses, he interceded for his people. Like Jesus, he wept with the hurting and sat with the rejected.

His quiet, prayerful, resolute witness sparked something.

A Spark in Lafayette Park

People passing through the park began to stop and take notice. Some asked questions. Others joined him in silent prayer. It sparked conversations that might not have otherwise happened.

Meanwhile, members of Congress and their staff listened as Ara shared the stories of his congregants. These weren’t just statistics. They were names. They were believers. They were families made in the image of God.

One such listener was Pastor Stump from Pittsburgh.

When he first heard about Pastor Ara’s fast, he joined in from home. But after realizing how few had physically gathered in support, he felt the Holy Spirit prompting him to go.

“I felt called by God to leave Pittsburgh and join him,” Pastor Stump said.
“Even if only for a brief moment, to show him he was not alone — and that other Christians are fasting and praying for a movement of God to soften the hearts of this nation’s leaders.”

“When Jesus was born, His own government tried to kill Him. His parents fled to Egypt for asylum. Our entire Judeo-Christian tradition is rooted in kindness, grace and mercy to foreigners. We were once strangers in a strange land.”

Pastor Stump traveled to Washington, D.C. to pray with Pastor Ara under the heat of the summer sun, standing together as a living testimony of the solidarity the Church is called to embody.

“I don’t do this because I’m a pastor. I do it because I’m a Christian,” he said.
“In Matthew 25, Jesus doesn’t judge the world. He judges the Church — based on how we treat the least of these. First Peter 4:17 says judgment begins with the house of God. The church will be judged by how we treat others. And I believe we will be found wanting.”

“So I’ve decided to treat all people as if they were Jesus. The least I can do is stand beside my brother as he fights for justice for the sheep of his flock. I will continue to do so until justice rolls down like mighty waters. This is the heart of God.”

The Work Continues: What Now?

Even after the fast ended, Pastor Ara’s heart did not rest.

“As I return to Los Angeles, my heart remains with the families whose loved ones are still behind bars,” he said.
“My next step is to continue walking with them — not only as a pastor, but as a brother.”

He is committed to raising awareness, supporting those still facing detention or deportation, and equipping churches to follow suit.

“I hope to equip my local church and other believers in America to become voices for justice and hope. Because silence is not an option when our brothers and sisters are suffering.”

A Glimpse of Hope: One Family Released

When Pastor Ara returned home, there was a powerful shift.

One of the families Pastor Ara had prayed and advocated for — the mother and father and young daughter — was released from detention. The details remain limited, but the influential leaders World Relief helped connect Pastor Ara with may have helped intervene.

“This win belongs to all of us,” Matt Soerens, VP of Advocacy and Policy shared. “Each person who prayed, shared the video, contacted an official or simply bore witness — you played a part. And while we long for systemic change so that no person of faith, from any background, is unjustly detained, we also know this: If we can get one child out of immigration detention, then every effort was worth it.”

The road ahead is long. But this release reminds us: our voices matter. It’s a moment to celebrate — not as a full victory, but as a glimpse of the hope we are praying and advocating for.

The couple from the initial viral video detained on the sidewalk in Los Angeles remains in detention. 

In a moment when it would be easy to despair, this release reminds us that advocacy rooted in love can still break through. And the church — when it chooses to show up — can still be a vessel of justice and mercy.

A Call to the Church: Fast. Pray. Show Up.

As followers of Jesus, we are called to go where He goes. He stood with the foreigner, the imprisoned, the outcast. If we are to walk in His steps, we must go to the margins — even when it’s uncomfortable.

“Please continue to pray,” Pastor Ara urges.
“Fasting may have ended, but the spiritual battle has not. Reach out to your elected officials. Share these stories. Open your churches to asylum seekers. Check in on families waiting in fear and silence. And most of all, don’t underestimate the power of showing up. Even a simple message to a detained person’s family can mean everything.”

Will the Church Rise?

Pastor Ara’s journey — from persecuted refugee to pastor on Capitol Hill — is not a political statement. It is a Gospel response.

It reminds us that advocacy isn’t an interruption of faith: It’s an expression of it.

In this moment, with so many suffering behind walls and wires, the church must decide:
Will we turn away? Or will we fast, pray and stand like Esther, like Jesus, like Ara?

“I believe the least I can do is stand beside my brother,” Pastor Stump said,
“and I will continue to do so until justice rolls down like mighty waters. This is the heart of God.”

Let us fast like Esther.
Let us pray like Jesus.
Let us advocate like Pastor Ara — with love, obedience and bold hope.

Because a Gospel that doesn’t move us to stand with compassion and solidarity … is a Gospel we’ve misunderstood.

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