“Families have been separated and children are without their mother,” said Pastor Roberto Velez of the Iglesia Cristiana Peniel (Peniel Christian Church) as he continuously worked to talk to many of those affected by federal agents’ roundup of illegal immigrants Monday. “There are some situations where both parents are gone.”

Pastor Roberto and Maria Velez have been faced with numerous questions from their congregants about the welfare of family members and people’s nationality.

Roberto Velez said members of the Hispanic community of Jones and Forrest counties are faced with a lot of uncertainties following Monday’s roundup by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.) officials at Howard Industries.

Roberto Velez said his congregations have “been devastated by this.”

Velez serves as a pastor of the Peniel Christian Church, which is an Assembly of God Church in Laurel, as well as the pastor of the New Covenant Church of Laurel and the New Community Church of Hattiesburg.

“It’s a difficult, trying and emotional time,” the pastor said. “All of our churches have been affected by this.”

Velez said he began receiving telephone calls over the weekend of people being concerned about “rumors they heard.”

Then about 8 a.m. Monday, Velez said his office telephone, as well as his cell phone, began ringing and have continuously rang ever since with calls from people concerned about their family members and their citizenship.

“We have been getting calls from everywhere,” Velez said. “I’m receiving calls from everywhere about everything. I’m getting calls from Mexico as well as many places in the United States.”

Velez said there’s a lot of uncertainty going on.

“There is a lot of speculation and rumors,” Velez said Monday afternoon. “We are concerned about the people.”

Maria Velez, the pastor’s wife, said she and her husband are “concerned about the children.”

“I have to look out for the welfare of my people,” Roberto Velez said. “I need to be a pastor to them. However, right now we don’t know how many people are involved.

“Howard was a major employer of Hispanics. So is Sanderson Farms, Wayne Farms (here in Laurel), Southern Hens (in Moselle) and Peco in Bay Springs,” the pastor said. “This is not only going to affect our community, but it’s going to affect the City of Laurel and the local economy.”

The couple said they are unsure at this time how many of their congregants were detained by federal authorities.