ICE raids motivates Fresno man to share his Christian faith through songs
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- Armando Sanchez sings Christian worship in Fresno public spaces after ICE raids.
- Community advocates report increased immigration enforcement, raising fear and confusion.
- Sanchez uses music to preach, sustain income, and comfort neighbors in need.
On most early mornings, Armando Sanchez can be found singing Christian worship music in Spanish at a downtown Fresno grocery store parking lot.
The 75-year-old Fresno resident has always enjoyed performing, but began sharing his faith publicly through songs after Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids intensified last summer as part of President Trump’s deportation crackdown.
“I don’t know how presidents think, but when they make people think, they suffer when someone is deported and the family is left crying,” Sanchez said. “The presidents don’t think about that. They have everything. But what’s important here is that we seek God, so people can change. If the presidents had already given themselves to God, they would think differently. They wouldn’t think this way. We have to love one another.”
In recent months immigration advocates and attorneys in the community have reported a range of enforcement encounters, including increased sightings of ICE agents at the county courthouse and detentions during check-ins and immigration appointments.
For Sanchez, the wave of immigration enforcement is personal. He is an immigrant from the Mexican state of Veracruz who immigrated to Fresno 17 years ago because his daughter was already living in the area.
Sanchez said he sings throughout the week at several locations, including El Toro Loco, a popular Mexican restaurant; La Estrella, a neighborhood grocery store; and the Grocery Outlet at Tulare and R streets.
His favorite songs include “Voy de paso en el mundo” (I Am Just Passing Through This World) and “La Cruz que mi Jesús llevaba” (The Cross That My Jesus Carried). Sanchez said God inspired him to compose the first song, and he learned the latter from fellow church members at the Iglesia de la Comunidad on Jensen Avenue, where he sings on Thursdays and Sundays.
“Jesus said that we have to preach the gospel here on Earth, and I like doing it because I like to sing, and I like to play, and people like it,” he said. “We’re seeing so many things happening. People need to hear the word of God because it’s necessary for someone to change through the word.”
For Sanchez, singing and spreading God’s word is also a source of income. He always leaves his guitar case open for anyone who wants to drop in some cash. Before this, he worked in construction and in the fields throughout the Central Valley.
“I feel good because it’s a blessing that God gives you,” he said. “I believe I’m doing something useful for the community, for the people. People look happy. Some tell me to keep preaching, to keep going. They give me a smile. People here are very kind.”
Sanchez said that when he first began singing in public last year, ICE raids were already taking place, and he wasn’t always sure about going out into the streets to sing and share God’s word.
“When I started, there were already raids, and sometimes I didn’t want to go out,” he said. “But I told myself, ‘I have to go out because I have to give people the word so they realize and recognize that there is a God who does everything right.’”
Sanchez said he strongly believes that following God’s word can change people, as it did for him when he converted to the faith at age 25.
“I used to drink a lot of beer and alcohol, and I was always involved in bad things,” he said. “Then I asked God to change me, and He changed me. It’s been 50 years since I converted, and here I am, still on the path. God changes you. He removes the bad and puts good thoughts in you. You start to think differently. You’re not the same person anymore. Above all, you begin to have more positive thoughts.”
Sanchez added that he believes music has a different kind of effect on people and allows them to connect more deeply.
“You connect with a song in a different way,” he said. “There’s more emotion. You feel God’s presence more strongly.”
