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When Julissa Oliva and Jose Manuel Flores first arrived at the Primera Iglesia Presbiteriana Hispana churchlastMay,they had nothing to their names.
Fleeing what they described as months of extortion from gang members in Tegucigalpa the capital of Honduras and one of the most violent cities in the world the undocumented couple left with their two young children and$300 in their pockets, making a treacherous 30-day journey through Mexico.
They eventually found refuge in Oakland, where Oliva has a sister and where the Presbyterian church on High Street offered them hope and the necessities they needed to survive in an unknown land.
Were starting at zero. Their support helps a lot, both morally and economically,Oliva said in Spanish.But were up in the air. Im not in a detention center but I do feel as if Im imprisoned because I dont know whats going to happen.
Churches such as Primera Iglesia in largely Latino and immigrant communities are expected to take on a more significant role under the Trump administration, which haspromised mass deportations and major changes in immigration policy. Already, dozens of Bay Area churches have declared themselves sanctuary churches in recent months, joining hundreds of others nationwide that have vowed toprotect their most vulnerable parishioners even if that puts them at odds with federal policy or law.
For immigrant communities and emerging communities, churches, synagogues, mosques and gurdwaras are all safe places where immigrants naturally gather for resources, said the Rev. Jon Pedigo, director of projects for peace and justice for the Diocese of San Jose. So its only natural that an immigrant community would turn to their churches for support, counseling, rent assistance and food assistance.
The Olivas are some of the more than 100 undocumented residents that Primera Iglesia has helpedin the past two years, offering resources ranging from temporary housing tolegal referrals. An estimated 400,000 undocumented residents live in Santa Clara, Contra Costa and Alameda Counties combined, regions with some of the states largest undocumented immigrant populations, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.
In the South Bay, more than 30 congregations of different denominations are determining how they can help those seeking refuge when the time comes. The number of congregations seeking to help our network increases by the week, Pedigo said.
John Rinaldo, director of parish partnerships for Catholic Charities in Santa Clara County, said that while the regions 53 Catholic churches may not formally use the term sanctuary, they provide assistance to vulnerable populations any way they can, rarely turning away people in need.
The role of churches as refugesgrew dramatically in the 1980s,when thousands of Central American refugees flocked to the U.S during a devastating civil war. In what became knownas The Sanctuary Movement,churches formed an underground railroad for refugees, arguing that Gods law to shelter and protectstrangers outweighed civil law.
Churches, mosques, or synagogues offering sanctuary do so in the name of just law a distinction at the heart of Dr. Martin Luther Kings nonviolent civil disobedience, said Dr. Bill ONeill, a professor at Santa Clara Universitys Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley.
Not all faith communities are on board. Some say houses of worship shouldnt take political stands, while others refuse to support illegal immigration, no matter the circumstance.
There are some people, and some Christians who may be well-meaning, but who have absolutely no idea how much damage they are causing by saying we should allow (undocumented immigrants) to stay, said the group Christians against Illegal immigration on its Facebook page. The United States, as every other country in the world, has a right and duty to enforce immigration laws.
Today,a rapidly growing modern Sanctuary Movement is givingchurches a national platform. More than 400 faith communities have joined the movement, vowing to do what Congress and the administration refuse to do: protect and stand with immigrants facing deportation, the group said.
At a recent forum on immigrant rightsat Primera Iglesia Presbiteriana Hispana,dozens of faith leaders and organizers from across the Bay Areabrainstormed ways to become sanctuaries in their own communities.
The concept of sanctuary has been evolving because our times are evolving,said the Rev. Deborah Lee, immigration program director for the Oakland-based Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, a member of the national Sanctuary Movement.
Its a time for us to come together to better organize ourselves, to prepare for what might be in store, and also to figure out how do we expand and invite others to join us.
In the chilly, small churchthe group discussedhow they would stand up for undocumented immigrants, with some participants sayingthey would bewilling to hide them from federal officials to keep them in the country. Already, a Berkeley churchhas built a sanctuary apartment in its basement, ready to house an individual or a family.
The families havent stopped coming. We need the churches around us to open their doors and take action, said Irma Hernandez,a naturalized U.S. citizen who fledEl Salvador during the civil war and now assists other immigrants at the Presbyterian church.
Praying is good. But sometimes words trail off. We need to do something concrete. We need to act, she said. The families outside our doors are crying, screaming out for help.
Oliva and Flores said they were robbed during their journey to the U.S. They recall begging for food, sleeping at bus terminals and narrowly avoiding other encounters with criminals who often prey on Central American immigrants passing through Mexico. Exhausted and out of options, they turned themselves in to immigration officials at the border crossing in Mexicali, where they were detained separately.
Oliva, 29, and her children, Liz, 5, and Hector, 1, were released after just a few days while Flores, 35, was detained for two months.They nowawait pending court dates.
The familycurrently lives in a house in the Fruitvale district, lent to them and another immigrant family by a local parishioner.
Here, we live day-by-day,Flores said. My next court date is in four years. Without a work permit and without any other aid, Im not sure how were going to make it.
ButOliva and Flores still hope to build a life here.
We dont come here to do harm to anyone. We immigrated from one country to another in search of better opportunities, Oliva said. There are lots of opportunities here but there are also many difficulties. I dont know whats going to happen. What awaits us.
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In Trump era, Bay Area churches offer sanctuary to undocumented immigrants - The Mercury News