The West La pastor is speaking after members of his congregation were taken to federal agents on Tuesday.
Ala Trollsien says seeing federal agents take members of his church reminded him of the horrors he grew up in Iran.
“In a flash I felt in the streets of Tehran, under tyranny, under dictatorship,” said the Trollsars, pastors of Cornerstone Church in West Los Angeles.
His congregations are now frightening as many of them are members of the Iranian community, so he made the difficult decision to cancel church services.
“In a lot of pain, I called them and said, ‘Don’t come to church,” Trollsian said. “I miss them. Hopefully I can hold them, love them, and preach them again.”
During the operation Tuesday, an Iranian woman experienced a severe panic attack after witnessing her husband’s arrest. The woman called out to help her pastor, Torosian, to intervene, but he could barely do so as to see her panic attack escalate into convulsions.
Trollsien says the couple are asylum seekers and partially fled Iran because they were persecuted for their Christian faith. The two don’t have a family in Los Angeles, so their first instinct was to call a pastor.
The Department of Homeland Security posted about the incident on social media, saying the couple was flagged as a national security subject
“When we experienced a medical emergency, the agents immediately contacted the EMS and took them to the hospital. The presence of agents in the hospital was only to protect subjects receiving medical care. This is the standard procedure when individuals in the country illegally require medical attention.
The pastor said the agents told them they had a warrant to hold the couple, but never produced it when he asked them to see it. He says the couple has no criminal history and have been at his church for over a year.
Trollsian added that a total of five in his congregation, including a family with a three-year-old daughter, have been taken to federal agents this week.
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