The Bishop of San Bernardino, Alberto Rojas, has issued a decree dispensing Catholics from attending Sunday Mass in response to concerns about recent immigration enforcement actions. The last time attendance was made optional was during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Think of the faithful

John Andrews leads communications for the Diocese and said there’s been a climate of fear in their immigrant communities since the raids began weeks ago.

“ We’ve noticed it. We felt it. And then to compound the situation in our diocese, we’ve had two different Catholic churches where immigration enforcement agents have come on to church property and made arrests,” Andrews said.

The Diocese covers both Riverside and San Bernardino counties, with more than 1 million self-identifying Catholics spread across 94 parishes. One out of every five people living in both counties are foreign-born, according to data from the U.S. census.

In the days and weeks following the ICE sweeps, there have been growing questions to Bishop Rojas from worried congregants.

“A lot of people come to him and say, ‘Bishop, is it really smart for me to attend mass? Do I have to do the weekly obligation?’” Andrews said. “And I think that was weighing heavily on him.”

How we got here

Church law allows a bishop to dispense the faithful from usual duties — including attend Mass — when he judges it contributes to their spiritual good. Bishop Rojas decided that the fears experienced by his congregants were a “grave inconvenience” to that spiritual good, according to the decree.

Along with an excuse from Sunday Mass, the decree encouraged alternative spiritual practices such as praying the rosary or attending virtual services.

It also ordered pastors and ministers to provide “compassionate support to those affected by this fear,” and said the dispensation would be in place until the circumstances which caused the decree “are sufficiently resolved.”

Church officials said they hope the decree does not have to be in place for too long.

“We want people to feel free to be able to come to church,” Andrews said. “It really kind of depends on whether these enforcement tactics continue the way they have been.”

A day after Bishop Rojas issued his decree he followed up with a message on the Diocese Facebook page, reiterating the role of parishes to support affected Catholics in their connection to the church at this time.

“Please continue to pray for our immigrant brothers and sisters. ” Bishop Rojas wrote.

Fears across the region

It’s not just Catholic churches that have weighed in amid escalating immigration actions. Last week, the Mayor of Perris in Riverside County took to Instagram to warn constituents about ICE enforcement in the city.

“Do not go out unless necessary. Stay at home and do not open the door to strangers. This message is for awareness and safety.” Mayor Michael M. Vargas said in a video post.

At Cal State L.A. this past week Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Heather Lattimer sent a letter to faculty accounting for and responding to fears from students over taking public transit and driving to campus.

In the letter Lattimer pointed to school policies in place for professors to give excused absences and alternative make-up work to concerned students.

She also wrote that faculty can elect to offer students to join classes remotely in extraordinary circumstances.

Fall semester for the school begins on August 18.

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Frank Seung Noah, 64, of Corona pleaded guilty Friday to one count of tax evasion and two counts of wire fraud. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each wire fraud count and up to five years in federal prison for the tax evasion count. U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Staton scheduled a May 8 sentencing hearing.

According to his plea agreement, Noah owned and operated Comis International Inc., a Cerritos-based logistics and supply-chain company that offered customs import brokerage services.

Comis was a customs import broker for Daiso, a popular Japan-based variety and value store with locations across the United States, including Southern California. In June 2024, Daiso celebrated the grand opening of a location at Menifee’s Town Center Marketplace, 30099 Haun Road. The 5,870-square-foot store features low-priced, quirky Japanese-inspired home decor, stationery, beauty items, food, and other products.

According to federal prosecutors, from 2007 to 2019, Noah provided Daiso with false customs duty forms and invoices to support his fraudulent requests for duty fee reimbursement. The forms differed from those Noah submitted to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. He inflated the numbers, resulting in Daiso overpaying Noah nearly $3.4 million.

After Noah was indicted in 2022 for defrauding Daiso, he continued scamming his other clients out of more than $2 million using a different scheme. Prosecutors said he ripped off two other clients by invoicing and receiving funds from their companies and then pocketing the money instead of paying the customs duties to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

After Customs and Border Protection notified the victims about their unpaid customs duties, they asked Noah about the situation, and he sent them altered bank statements falsely reflecting that he had paid the customs duties, according to prosecutors.

Noah also failed to pay federal taxes, resulting in an IRS loss of approximately $2.4 million. Penalties and interest continue to accrue.

After agreeing with the IRS in 2014 that he owed more than $1 million in taxes, Noah actively avoided IRS attempts to collect the money.

Instead, he paid for two homes in his former girlfriend’s name. He used check-cashing businesses to avoid IRS levies on his bank accounts, lied to IRS collection agents, and spent thousands of dollars on country club memberships, travel and golf purchases, according to prosecutors.

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