Sanctuary church immigration bid causes school to close
washingtontimes.com
 In this Oct. 26, 2017, photo, Amanda Morales poses for a photograph in the sanctuary of the Holyrood Episcopal Church, the Bronx borough of New York. Morales has been living in the gothic church at the northern edge of Manhattan ... more >
Under U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s current policies, churches are generally considered off limits for deportation officers. Schools are also considered sensitive locations.
Given that policy, a number of churches this year have announced they would become sanctuaries and host illegal immigrants to protect them from deportation.
In the case of the Boulder church, they’re at the start of the process. They’re having to install a shower and conducted a security review that recommended new locks and closed-door policies in order to become a sanctuary.
They don’t have a migrant yet and are working with a Denver-based group that will recommend someone. The pastor said the Denver group only works with nonviolent migrants, but she was unsure of what that meant in practice when it came to the level of criminal charges someone might have faced.
Ms. Dignan said the church will alert ICE once it has someone living there in order to be fully open and transparent about its actions.
She declined to talk about the preschool’s decision, referring calls to the church’s lawyer.
Taking sanctuary in churches to avoid deportation dates back decades, and there was a surge of churches announcing they would become sanctuaries during the Obama administration, when deportations reached a record high.
Interest surged again this year in response to President Trump’s demand that current immigration laws be adhered to.
The Sanctuary Movement claims more than 700 religious congregations that have proclaimed they are willing to be sanctuaries.
The movement said last week it will step in to offer sanctuary to potentially thousands of illegal immigrants from Nicaragua after the Trump administration said it would end special protected status for people who have been in the U.S. for nearly two decades under a special temporary program after Hurricane Mitch devastated their home.
But the Boulder church and preschool suggest those decisions can have other effects.
Ms. Davis, the preschool’s director, said parents were conflicted over the church’s sanctuary policy but were irked at the church’s decision-making.
“It was the way it was handled and how quickly it was thrown against them and not having their voices heard,” Ms. Davis said. “A lot of the parents wanted the church to give us more notice than they gave so we could finish off the year.”
With so many parents pulling out, the school had no choice but to close its doors. Ms. Davis said they’re not sure they’ll look for another location.
Ms. Dignan said preschool parents were invited to be part of the sanctuary education process.
She also said there have been no lasting hard feelings among those in her congregation who opposed the sanctuary decision, saying they’re still coming to worship service.
“As Unitarian Universalists, we believe that courageous love transforms the world, and that’s what we’re offering as part of our religious duty,” she said. PUKE. |
