With two women taking refugein Denver churches in the monthssince Donald Trump was elected president, the city is getting noticed as a place where the revivedsanctuary movement for people in the U.S. illegally has firmly taken root and could soon spread.
Denvers sanctuary cases, involving two mothers of American children, represent a third of all known cases nationwide, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Church World Service. That has promptedone immigration expert to cite Denver as a city on the vanguard of a movement that soon could blossom across the country, especially if the Trump administration continues to hold itshard-line stance.
I would definitely characterize Denver as a hot spot in the sanctuary movement, said Rev. Noel Andersen, a national grassroots faith coordinator with the Church World Service.
The organization, which tracks immigration trends across faith communities, says the number of congregations offering sanctuary to undocumented immigrants has more than doubled to more than 800 nationwide since Trump was elected in November.
Weve been overwhelmed with requests, Andersen said.Theres a lot of fear in the immigrant community.
The movement here, largely limited to a half dozen or so liberal-leaning Unitarian Universalist and Quaker congregations, may soon expand to other faith communities.The United Methodist Church is offering a Sanctuary Churches Training seminar April 1 and 2 in Centennial, during which participants will hear from local immigration-rights advocates, legal professionals and members of the immigrant community about what it means to declare sanctuary.
More congregations are moving into an exploratory stage to see if they can participate in this new sanctuary movement, saidDaniel Klawitter, an admissions representative with the Iliff School of Theology and an ordained deacon in the United Methodist Church. The aggressive rhetoric has spurred folks to take it a little more seriously and to be more pre-emptive.
That rhetoric was an effective tool for Trump during his run for the White House, as the billionaire businessman hit a nerve with many Americans frustrated by illegal immigration. In all, there are an estimated 11 million to 12 million unauthorized immigrants in this country, with 130,000 living in the Denver metro area,according to a Pew Research Center report released last month.
Helen H. Richardson, The Denver Post
The presidents position on the issue hasnt softened since taking office, as evidenced by a travel ban he put in place against seven Muslim-majority countries that was almost immediately struck down by a federal judge.The new administration also rewrote immigration enforcement policies that would make any person in the country illegally who is charged with or convicted of any offense, or even suspected of a crime, an enforcement priority. That includes people whose only offense is being in the country illegally.
While the previous administration wasnt shy about deporting people, immigrants whose only violation was being in the country without authorization were generally left alone.
Jennifer Piper, program director for interfaith organizing with the American Friends Service Committee in Denver, said the new presidents approach to immigration and the way peoples humanity was under attack during the presidential campaign is in large part responsible for reviving the sanctuary movement that began 30 years ago to help Central American immigrants, but lost momentum in recent years.
I think the rhetoric from the Trump campaign was the driver for that, she said. It was very visible and very disturbing for people of faith.
Since the election, Piper has received 60 inquiries from Colorado church leaders seeking information about establishing sanctuary space.
I think there will be more people claiming sanctuary over the next year, Piper said.
But not all of the clergy agrees on how the hot-button issue should be handled.
Mark Young, president of the Denver Seminary, said he has seen the debate play out among evangelical leaders who feel the tug of their conservative political ideology and the precepts of a faith that emphasize compassion and forgiveness.
Certainly, there are those who would see deportation as against the teachings of Christ, while others would say that following U.S. law is the moral thing to do, Young said. We have both voices.
Archdiocese of Denver spokeswoman Karna Swanson said in regard to providing sanctuary space, the citys Catholic community hasnt been approached for that type of assistance.
But she said the church, as a matter of its centuries-long mission of showing compassion to the less fortunate, has consistently worked with and assisted those on the margins of society. That includes providing legal assistance and advice on an ongoing basis to the citys heavily Catholic Latino community regardless of citizenship.
We help anyone of any creed, religion and immigration status, Swanson said. We are committed to standing in solidarity with the immigrant community.
Rabbi Joe Black, of Temple Emanuel in Denver, said teachings from the Torah about rendering help to the foreigner in our midst is endemic to being a spiritual, religious Jew.
Blacks own mother came to the U.S. as a refugee from Nazi Germany. Jews have an understanding of the need to support those who are weak and victimized, he said.
Its something weve been asked about and weve talked about (as an organization), Black said.
But so far that hasnt translated to opening then synagogue doors to house people living in the country illegally.
The Colorado Muslim Society has staked out a more direct position on the matter: The states largest Muslim congregation will not risk violating the law in order to shelter someone living in the U.S. illegally.
We do have to follow the law of the land and it is against state and federal regulation to harbor anyone who is in the country illegally, or essentially wanted by authorities, said Iman Jodeh, a spokeswoman for the South Parker Road mosque. So the Colorado Muslim Society would not be a place of sanctuary.
Thats as it should be, said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies for the conservative nonprofit Center for Immigration Studies. With 4 million people on the waiting list for a green card, she said, its unfair to give refuge and assistance to those who entered the country by breaking the law.
Churches that wade into this need to be very careful, Vaughan said. Its one thing to show support for someone in a difficult situation, but its quite another thing to condone behavior that is illegal and that, in the aggregate, has an adverse effect on many Americans in terms of jobs and crime.
Churches, she said, risk running afoul of the nations laws against harboring a criminal.
Religious buildings fall under a sensitive locations policy with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that characterizes houses of worship, schools and hospitals as places to generally be avoided when it comes to taking enforcement actions.But the new administration could abandon that policy whenever it wants.
Alarm bells went off among immigration-rights advocates in February, when ICE agents arrested two people across the street from a church in Alexandria, Va. The action prompted questions from Virginia Gov. Terry McAulifee and a sharp rebuke from U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, who was Hillary Clintons running mate.
We are hearing some words, the Virginia Democrat told The Associated Press this month, but the words arent matching up with what people are seeing.
For now, the sanctuary movement in Denver is centered on Christian communities that have aless hierarchical organizational structure. In addition to the First Unitarian Society, which is hostingJeanette Vizguerra,who first came to the United States from Mexico 20 years ago, Mountain View Friends Meeting in Denver late last yearopened its doors to Ingrid Encalada Latorre, a Peruvian woman in the country illegally since 2000.
Both churches are members of the Metro Denver Sanctuary Coalition and are the only buildings in the metro area willing to accommodate long-term guests. The coalition, formed in 2014, hasfive other Unitarian churches that serve as supporting congregations.
Mountain View Friends member David Poundstone said his church is careful to avoid the charge of harboring a criminal by making Latorres presence in the church wellknown.
Were actually trying to make a very public statement that says, A person is here, he said. We are not harboring anybody.
Latorre is supported by a network of 30 volunteers who run laundry for her, bring her groceries, care for her children and sleep over at the south Denver church as an added measure of security. But sequestering oneself to a single location for weeks on end is a difficult thing to do and, Poundstone said, may explain why there hasnt been an explosion of people seeking sanctuary across the country.
Its not the best way for everybody, he said. Its not easy living inside a church building and not going out.
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Sanctuary movement for unauthorized immigrants in Colorado may strengthen now that Trump's in charge - The Denver Post