Pastor Ara Torosian’s public breakdown is a sober wake-up call to every American who still believes our country stands for religious liberty and decency. In a raw CBN interview he translated the terrified words of Iranian believers hiding in plain sight, describing a nightmare of arrests and fear that would chill the heart of any freedom-loving citizen.
What he witnessed on the streets of Los Angeles read like scenes from Tehran: masked federal agents, a woman collapsed and convulsing on the pavement, and parishioners terrified to leave their homes. Torosian said the sight transported him back to the brutality he fled, prompting him to cancel services and beg the government for mercy for his flock.
This is not a stranger’s anecdote; Torosian himself survived torture in Iran for helping smuggle Bibles and came to America as a refugee seeking the very freedoms now under threat for his congregation. He has every right to be furious and heartbroken — and so should we, because what happened to his people is a test of our national character.
The arrests did not happen in a vacuum: federal enforcement activity increased after tensions with Iran escalated, and the Department of Homeland Security acknowledged multiple detentions of Iranian nationals in recent operations. Meanwhile, legal changes have made deportation pathways murkier, creating a terrifying limbo for asylum seekers who fled persecution for their faith.
Conservatives have every right to demand compassion for real refugees while also insisting on secure borders and clear law. But compassion must mean protecting those Christians who risked everything to escape Islamic theocracy, not treating them like collateral in a cynical immigration game; Torosian’s Farsi-speaking church of some 50 to 60 recent arrivals now hides in fear instead of finding sanctuary.
Torosian didn’t just cry — he acted, staging a hunger strike outside the White House and pushing for the release and humane treatment of detained families, some of whom were later allowed home with ankle monitors. That kind of moral courage is what rebuilt lives after communism and authoritarianism in other parts of the world — and it deserves our support, not bureaucratic indifference.
Americans must stand with persecuted Christians overseas and their brothers and sisters who make it here seeking refuge. Our leaders should be judged by whether they protect the innocent and uphold the promise of liberty; if they cannot, then conservatives should raise our voices louder, demand accountability, and make sure the United States remains a true refuge for the oppressed.
