WASHINGTON – The imposing Shrine of the Sacred Heart, a Catholic church a short drive from the White House, was intended to be a sanctuary for worshippers. Now, its mostly immigrant congregation is steeped in fear.

Church leaders say more than 40 members of their parish have been detained, deported or both since federal law enforcement stepped up their deployment in August.

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Many parishioners are too scared to leave home to attend Mass, buy food or seek medical care, as the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown targets their communities.

Cardinal Robert McElroy, who leads the Archdiocese of Washington, said the government was using fear to rob immigrants “of any sense of real peace or security.”

“It really is an instrument of terror,” he told The Associated

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