Marin Interfaith Council sponsored a gathering of religious
leaders to learn about the sanctuary movement. A total of 62 attendees came out on August 29th for the gathering
focused on sanctuary congregations.
The speakers addressed:
What does it mean to provide
sanctuary? What are the levels of
sanctuary? What is the process to
become a sanctuary congregation, and what are the challenges/risks?
The Rev. Deborah Lee, Program Director of the Interfaith Movement for Human
Integrity, and Rabbi Elana Rosen-Brown of Congregation Rodef Sholom, spoke in both practical
and moral terms about how faith communities can utilize their resources to
serve the immigrant community in this time of need. Different examples of sanctuary congregations were provided
to help attendees understand the range of ways to offer sanctuary. Both leaders also echoed the importance
of defining mentally, spiritually, and emotionally what sanctuary means for your faith community so that you can
create and implement an appropriate response. [Emphasis intentional]
 |
| Rev. Deborah Lee |
Deborah first spoke to the overall problems about the impact
of undocumented immigrants in practical terms. She asserts that there has been a coordinated attack on the
word “sanctuary.”
The U.S. is a destination for migrants; many immigrants come
to the U.S. to escape danger. California
and the San Francisco Bay Area more so.
It behooves us to demonstrate compassion and mercy, and to consider the
underlying causes of their migration.
After all, but for a small population of Native Peoples that we -- all
of us whose families came here as immigrants at some point – have decimated. All of us Euros, Africans, Asians, and
blends are immigrants, regardless of how far back our ancestors. Latinos, on the other hand, are native
to the Americas.
Further, homo sapiens
is a migratory species. We arose
in East Africa and have migrated to every continent and subcontinent on the planet
and most islands in Earth’s oceans. [Emphasis intentional]
There are more than 200 detention facilities for people
seeking citizenship in this country; only two of them are for women and
children. All are overcrowded and
the conditions in those facilities are worse than those in state prisons.[1]
Additionally, recent news reports that many detained women
are miscarrying, and the nutrition children and all other detainees leaves a
lot to be desired. Not to mention
the lack of educational opportunities for young detainees.
On top of that, immigration costs more than $18 billion a
year, more than any other federal program. One of the largest detention facilities
is West County Detention Facility in Richmond, CA, about four miles across a
bridge from where I sit typing.
West County gets big bucks of our tax money from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). On the first Saturday of each month an
interfaith prayer group meets from 11:00 a.m. till noon outside the gates.
Conversely, there has also be an increased in sanctuary
communities locally from five to twenty-seven.
Since the current administration in Washington took over the
federal government, ICE has instituted fast deportations with no judges or
hearings. Concomitantly, the
number of deportees has increased.
ICE also seeks to have any immigrant who is arrested, no matter the
crime or transgression, turned over to ICE by the jail or prison
authorities.
I have witnessed this policy in action where I volunteer at
San Quentin. One of our regular
circle members, when he was up for parole, disappeared. This man, an immigrant from Mexico, had
a questing mind and took every advantage during his incarceration to better
himself (working towards a college degree, for instance). I viewed him as someone who was
motivated and who would become a contributing member of society after his
release. Alas, when I asked about
his whereabouts, assuming he’d have been assigned to some kind of halfway house
as he had expected, I learned that he’d been deported.
There has been resistance to this policy by some law
enforcement authorities who decline to comply, but this resistance has been
inconsistent. My county and
several nearby counties and cities are sanctuary cities. And now, thanks to Governor Jerry Brown,
our state is a sanctuary state. I
sit now in a library where several signs are posted welcoming immigrants
specifically, and everyone (ages, races, gender, abilities, languages, et al.). Deborah claims that deportees are
returned to slave-owners.
As mentioned above, we (the San Francisco Bay Area and the
wider State of California) are a destination for migrants. We have legal resources, whereas no
counsel is offered to deportees.
Our progressive legislature assures that undocumented children can go to
school. Immigrants don’t qualify
for rent subsidies, but they do have tenant rights of which most are unaware.
Deborah cautions us to expect pushback for our efforts. We see that now that Governor Brown has
designated California as a sanctuary state, the current administration has
ordered ICE to amp up their raiding here.
While guides suggest speaking with an attorney who is
knowledgeable about immigration law, the fact is that there is almost no legal
risk. See ACLU’s Sanctuary
Congregations and Harboring FAQ.
Familiarize yourself with harboring laws, stay open, announce that fact,
and report on incidents of reprieve.
ICE can enter your sanctuary
to apprehend undocumented immigrants, but they are under witness of community.
She urges us to resist untruths about immigrants with those
who hold them. She offers three
“R” principles: Right thing to do; Relationship to immigrants; and Risk to share with immigrants and to take a chance.
The motto of the organization for which Deborah works, the
Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, is “Every human person is sacred across all borders.” Here is what IM4HI tells us about how
sanctuary looks today.
“A public, corporate commitment to
walk alongside immigrants, mixed-status families, refugees, and other targeted
communities to uphold the dignity, due process, and full acceptance and
participation of all people in our society through protection, support, and
advocacy. Congregations can write
their own statement of sanctuary to reflect what they specifically will do.”
IM4HI suggests four ways that congregations are demonstrating their commitment to sanctuary. Some of them are things that we -- as individuals, as covens, as a covenant – can do even though we generally don’t have physical facilities.
Advocacy:
«
Advocate at the local, state, and national
levels for policies that protect the due process of immigrants and promote
their full dignity and integration into our local communities.
«
Advocate for policies that help to prevent mass
deportation and fear by creating clear separation between ICE and local law enforcement and civic
institutions, for example, strong sanctuary city and county policies.
«
Engage in local public actions and activities to
shift public discourse towards immigrants, Muslims, and refugees, and bring
attention to our responsibility
Accompaniment of
Immigrant Families or Youth:
Individuals and congregations can immediately help accompany
immigrants in urgent situations and need of accompaniment. This can include newly arrived migrant
families, unaccompanied minors, people facing deportation crisis, those just
released from detention centers.
Trained volunteers can help to provide courtroom accompaniment, access
to services, and concrete and emotional support and/or transitional housing to
help those in a period of crisis.
There are 13 teams in the East Bay doing accompaniment. They claim that this issue warrants
“God’s special attention.”
Networks of
Protection & Rapid Response:
«
Join a rapid response Network to respond to ICE
workplace raids, home raids, or other enforcement activity.
«
Connect with targeted communities to help
develop relationships and networks of protection.
Housing Hospitality:
«
There are various kinds of needs for housing
hospitality: (1) short-term
respite housing for someone released from detention; (2) housing for newly
arrived immigrant family seeking asylum; (3) protective housing for someone
with a final order of deportation; and (4) hosts needed in order for the
government to release individuals from immigration detention,
«
Depending on the case, housing hospitality could
be in a private home of a member, or on congregational property.
I know that some Pagan nonprofits shy away from civic
involvement out of concern for their nonprofit status. I can state with certainty that
religious organizations with nonprofit status can indeed offer opinions,
suggestions, recommendations, and urging to their congregations about secular
issues such as immigration without jeopardizing their nonprofit status.
Many years ago when the Reclaiming Collective was young, we --
I was active in the collective in those years and I was instrumental in
acquiring these classifications -- applied for and received incorporation as a
nonprofit religious organization from the Secretary of State of California as
well as 501(c)3 tax status from the Internal Revenue Service. One of the things we wanted to accomplish
was to provide sponsorship of an immigrant couple (one from Senegal and the
other from England) so that they could remain in this country and acquire
permanent residence status. This
occurred with no effect on Reclaiming’s legal status.
Some years ago when ICE was regularly doing predawn raids in
the Canal District, a predominantly Latino neighborhood of our city, our local Marin Interfaith Council’s Justice
Advocacy Team organized predawn vigils, both to demonstrate our concern and
solidarity and to assist victims of raids and their families. Immigrants do have tenants rights,
among other rights, of which they may be either unaware or reluctant to use for
fear of deportation.
A couple of months ago, an immigrant construction worker who
had entered nearby Travis Air Force Base to work on a job was held for
deportation by ICE. This man had
been a contributing member of our community for more than 17 years, had married
and had children who were American citizens. He and his family were known to be law-abiding members of
our city, but for the father’s immigration status. A call went out from MIC to its members, asking them to
write letters of support to representatives, government entities, and the
press. MIC is also a 501(c)3
nonprofit.
* * * * *
 |
| Rabbi Elana Rosen-Brown |
Rabbi Elana Rosen-Brown told of the ways in which the
members of her Congregation Rodef Sholom
committed to create a sanctuary for immigrants. She spoke of Rodof Shalom’s process of becoming a community
network. She cited T’ruah:
The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, which has published Mikdash: A Quickstart Guide for Sanctuary Synagogues,
a step-by-step, easy-to-access pdf.
In addition to providing us with a copy of this document, she gave us
copies of the “Resolution of the Board of Directors of Congregation Rodof
Shalom Affirming Congregational Solidarity with Undocumented Immigrants.” To demonstrate its commitment to this
resolution of its Board, they created a Source Sheet, a useful document she
also shared with us.
The first thing to do is to change hearts and minds. Becoming
a sanctuary community begins with networking. Concurrently, reach out to local immigrants rights group to
understand local needs and partners. It’s good as well to have immigrant folk speak to the
congregation so that the members can better understand and appreciate their
urgent needs.
Elana recommends Sanctuary Not Deportation
(SND), which has a list of local coalitions. Sanctuary groups are already well established in such places
as Denver, Philadelphia, New York City, Boston, Austin, Chicago, Southern
Arizona, Milwaukee, Kansas City, Phoenix, Washington, South Florida, Colorado
Springs, and New Mexico. Our
neighboring state of Oregon’s Interfaith Movement
for Immigrant Justice is another resource for learning to become a
sanctuary community.
SND offers instructions on becoming a sanctuary community,
including strategy and tactics.
Different religious traditions have published denominational statements
as well as liturgical materials; however, all are Christian except for one
issued by Reformed Judaism. SND
appears to be a useful site, but it could certainly benefit from having a more
diverse coalition.
Now we Pagans don’t usually have buildings to use and to
maintain; even so, there are plenty of ways we can help. Several ways are suggested above.
After the presentations of our two guests, I got an idea of
how we – me, anyway – might help.
I propose providing immigrants with prepaid cell phones. With cell phones, immigrants can
receive announcements pertinent to their situations. They can access
information and resources in their own languages. And if circumstances result in their relocating, they can
remain connected with friends, allies, and supportive groups. My idea was to contact CREDO Mobile or other cell phone
services to enlist their cooperation by providing the phones, perhaps new but
discontinued models that are harder to sell. CREDO is a social change network of 5 million activists
organizing and mobilizing for progressive change; each month CREDO donates all
profits to various nonprofits, voted on by subscribers. I haven’t followed through on this
yet. What do you think?
[1] She actually cited San
Quentin, probably because it is local; however, I volunteer with the Wiccan
circle there and so far I haven’t been exposed to deplorable conditions. Bleak and institutional, yes. Of course, I only see communal areas,
not cellblocks.
