As word spread among Catholics that immigration agents were visiting places of worship to carry out deportations, the pews inside the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Church in downtown Los Angeles became less and less crowded.

At least two Catholic dioceses have told migrants fearful of being arrested in immigration raids outside church that they do not have to attend Sunday Mass. San Bernardino Bishop Alberto Rojas, who leads more than 1.

San Bernardino Bishop Alberto Rojas, who leads more than 1.5 million Catholics in Southern California, has formally excused parishioners from their weekly obligation to attend Mass following immigration detentions on two parish properties in the diocese.