Churches offering sanctuary to immigrants

[stone space]

With Immigration Reform in Limbo, Churches Offer Sanctuary

Written by Eric Gibble on October 31, 2014 in Deportation, Faith, Undocumented Immigration



Immigration reform legislation remains stalled in Congress, and the Obama administration has yet to announce what executive actions the president will take on immigration after the election. In response to the lack of reform, churches across the country are sheltering undocumented immigrants who face imminent deportation by providing them with sanctuary.

Arturo Hernandez Garcia is seeking refuge within the walls of a Unitarian Church in Denver, Colorado. Originally from Mexico, Garcia has worked as a contractor in the U.S. since 1999 and is the father of two U.S. citizen girls. He has petitioned the U.S. government for legal status because his wife’s father is a U.S. citizen and her mother has legal permanent residency status. This attempt has been in vain as his deportation has not been deferred.

Garcia said in an interview “I want the public to know about my case. There are so many families just like mine that have come here to work and look for a future for our children…we are a part of this country and not a threat.”

In the Midwest, Beatriz Ramirez and her 3-year-old and 7-year-old U.S.-citizen children are seeking relief in a Catholic church in Chicago, Illinois. For the past decade, Ramirez has lived in the U.S. and worked in the fields of Illinois. After a domestic violence incident, she attempted to get a U Visa which is designed protect victims. She was denied the visa, and now faces deportation.

In Tucson, Arizona, 41-year-old Rosa Robles Loreto has claimed sanctuary inside the Southside Presbyterian Church since August. Four years ago, she was pulled over for a minor traffic violation. Loreto, the mother of two young boys, is now faced with deportation to Mexico.

The Rev. Alison J. Harrington, the head of the church where Loreto is being sheltered, said, “We felt compelled by our faith to welcome them into our church and shelter them and to begin a campaign to get their orders of deportation removed.’”

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http://immigrationimpact.com/2014/10/31/immigration-reform-limbo-churches-offer-sanctuary/

[trotsky]

1. Welcome back!

Great story. It's too bad there are so many people compelled by their faith to deport him.

[rug]

5. That's right!

ICE judges must be ordained now before they can deport.

[cbayer]

2. Churches have traditionally been places of sanctuary - hence the name.

[Warpy]

3. My town is a sanctuary city

meaning the cops can't harass anyone they think might be an illegal immigrant. They stop cars with Jalisco plates only to tell them if they are living here they need to change their licenses and registrations and get insurance. Yes, we allow illegal immigrants driver's licenses (with no SSN so they can't vote) so they will get insurance. It's cut the uninsured driver rates around here dramatically.

Besides, they don't drive any crazier than locals and a lot less crazy than Bostonians.

[cbayer]

4. I did not know such places existed. Thanks for the info.

In SoCal, the norm is for undocumented people to drive without licenses. They are perpetually afraid of being stopped by law enforcement.

I like what your city has done.

[Curmudgeoness]

6. As well they should.

Since one of the only places that has legal status as a sanctuary for persecuted individuals, they should step up and provide it. I am sure that if other places had that status, they would be doing the same thing. But tradition goes a long way here, and churches are free to do this.

[stone space]

7. Oh, this is something that us atheists can participate in, also. (nt)

[Curmudgeoness]

8. How so?

I mean legally.

Unless we want to start churches for atheists, and I don't really think that is a good idea---although having some of these privileges would be nice.

[stone space]

9. What these churches are doing is not legal.

I mean legally.

They are directly challenging state authority based upon their religious and moral beliefs.

And as an atheist, I fully support them in their lawbreaking activities.

[Curmudgeoness]

11. You are right. I was "taught" wrong.

But since my teaching came from the church, I should have known better. It is not "officially" legal, but there is still a stigma against invading churches. I learned something today.

[stone space]

15. Here's an old article from the New York Times.

When something is not "officially" legal, that means that the government can come and arrest you for it.

Which happens, of course.

It is not "officially" legal, but there is still a stigma against invading churches.

It is important for us atheists to support folks in the sanctuary movement when they take personal risks like this to help people.

Here's an old new York Times article that talks about the sanctuary movement.

ACTIVISTS VOW TO CONTINUE AIDING PEOPLE FLEEING CENTRAL AMERICA

By WAYNE KING, Special to the New York Times

Published: January 16, 1985

TUCSON, Ariz., Jan. 15— Despite the indictment of some of their leaders, church groups here and elsewhere said today that they would continue to give sanctuary to Central Americans they consider to be political refugees.

Supporters of the sanctuary movement, reacting to the indictment of 16 people on charges of conspiring to smuggle illegal aliens into the United States, declared they would put the Government ''on trial'' for its policies in Central America and in dealing with aliens.

In addition to the 16 indictments, returned by a Federal grand jury in Phoenix last week and announced Monday in Washington, more than 60 other people, mostly Salvadorans and Guatemalans who entered the United States with help from the sanctuary movement, were arrested over the weekend. Seen

The nationwide crackdown sharply aggravates the conflict between liberal church groups and the Federal Government, which says the aliens are fleeing poverty, not persecution, and do not qualify for political asylum.

snip---------------------

As many as 200 churches around the country are believed to support the movement, which has openly defied the Federal authorities. The Rev. John M. Fife of the Tucson Southside United Presbyterian Church, a central figure in the movement and one of those indicted, vowed to continue assisting Central Americans who seek shelter in this country.

''Whenever the church has been persecuted throughout history,'' he said in an interview today, ''it has strengthened the church, not weakened it. It is clear that our work will change, but we will continue to provide sanctuary to Cental Americans who are fleeing political persecution.''

Mr. Fife was the first to openly make his church a haven for Central Americans, on March 24, 1982. By last spring, despite Government oppostion, the movement had spread to more than 100 churches, chiefly in the Southwest, the Middle West, California and the New York area.

The Government responded by arresting several activists in the movement, including Stacey Ann Merkt, a church worker who was sentenced last June to two years probation for transporting three Salvadorans.

Her case became something of a symbol of religious defiance of the Government, and she gained the support of a number of groups and individuals, including John J. Fitzpatrick, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Brownsville.

Her case became something of a symbol of religious defiance of the Government, and she gained the support of a number of groups and individuals, including John J. Fitzpatrick, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Brownsville.

snip----------------------

In the wake of the much larger set of indictments and arrests over the weekend, the National Council of Churches issued a statement calling the action ''surprising and shocking.''

''The fact that several of those detained are mothers and their children is a demonstration of the tragedy which called the sanctuary movement into being,'' said the Rev. Dr. Arie Brouwer, the general secretary of the Council of Churches, referring to the Central Americans arrested over the weekend.

snip----------------------

Another of those indicted Monday, James Corbett, said the Government ''is basically going to have to put the church in prison'' to stop the sanctuary movement. Mr. Corbett, 51, was the founder of an ''underground railroad'' that began in Tucson in 1981 to bring Central Americans to this country.

''The pattern we see from Washington,'' he said in a telephone interview here, ''is a move to crush the sanctuary movement. They have completely misjudged what this movement is about. We'll continue to do what we can to provide a protective community to Central Americans, and we'll do it just as openly as ever.''

http://www.nytimes.com/1985/01/16/us/activists-vow-to-continue-aiding-people-fleeing-central-america.html

[Curmudgeoness]

16. Don't get me wrong.

I do support the church sanctuary movement. And I hope that it continues and flourishes.

[cbayer]

10. This is not accurate. There is no legal protection.

From the article:

There is no law prohibiting immigration officials from entering a place of worship to enforce deportation orders. However, a representative from Immigration and Customs Enforcement told the Associated Press said that they have “a policy of not pursuing people wanted for immigration violations into sensitive areas, including schools and churches, unless there is an immediate need or exception, such as national security or anti-terrorism enforcement.”

[msongs]

12. with all that tax free income churches are a perfect place for immigrants to live nt

[stone space]

13. I would prefer that immigrants be allowed to live freely...

...without the need for church protection.

[cbayer]

14. What you know about the financial status of churches in this country is extremely

limited.

It would not hurt you to do a little research.

It probably would hurt you to give these groups some credit for doing the right thing, though.