Watch a slide show and read all the stories in a series on the immigration of thousands of people from Casa Blanca to Tulsa.

Read all of the Tulsa World’s coverage of House Bill 1804.

Church officials are concerned about the impact on their congregations' families.

Oklahoma's new immigrant law was affecting Catholic Hispanic ministries even before it took effect Thursday.

House Bill 1804 cracks down on illegal immigrants and those who hire or help them.

"By August, 10 percent of our families had left," said the Rev. David Medina, pastor of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, 2434 E. Admiral Blvd., Tulsa's largest Hispanic congregation. That figure now has grown to near 20 percent.

As director of the Hispanic Apostolate of the Diocese of Tulsa, Medina oversees all ministry to Hispanic Catholics in eastern Oklahoma.

He estimated that 90 percent of the St. Francis congregation is Hispanic and of that group, 60 to 70 percent is in the United States without legal documentation.

He said attendance at St. Francis Xavier dropped this year from 8,000 a weekend in 13 Masses to about 6,000, as members anticipated what the new law would do. Many have left

Most left because they feared their families would be separated under the new law, he said.

Some have been fired by employers who fear they could be charged with a felony under the new law, and others have quit their jobs.

"It's creating a lot of fear and confusion," Medina said. "They don't know what to do. It's creating a lot of stress on the families."

Medina said HB1804 has been a major topic of conversation among Tulsa Hispanics.

"They feel persecuted, not understood and not welcomed," he said. "They feel their labor here has not been valued."

Children are asking why their parents are not welcome in the United States, he said.

"There's a lot of pain in my soul," said Medina, a native of Guadalajara, Mexico, who has been in the United States for 10 years.

"I see how people are suffering. All I can do is bring them comfort through my ministry," he said.

Turmoil caused by the new law is affecting the life of the church, Medina said.

Many of those who have left were volunteers in the church. They taught Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) -- Catholic religious instruction -- and ran or worked in a variety of programs.

Many were bilingual, he said, and helped people deal with schools, hospitals and other institutions.

"We've had to drop some programs."

Medina said fear has changed Hispanics' social life. Many are staying home for fear that they will be apprehended and deported.

People are afraid to associate with illegal immigrants, take them to church, to the hospital, or to the grocery store. Some are afraid to take their children to school.

Bishop Edward J. Slattery, who conducted a Mass in support of immigrants Wednesday night at St. Francis Xavier, said before the Mass that many lives are being disrupted by the new law, especially children who are citizens and whose parents are not.

"It borders on cruel," he said.

As a bishop, and as a Christian and a clergyman, he said, "I must serve God's people, and the people of God extend beyond the borders of the United States."

He said America needs a unified federal immigration policy, not a patchwork of state policies.

Bill Sherman 581-8398
bill.sherman@tulsaworld.com