Religions take various approaches to social justice issues—with some leaning more liberal than others, but churches have long been on the front lines of protecting members of vulnerable communities. And in Trump’s America, churches are continuing that work as they ramp up efforts to offer sanctuary to undocumented immigrants at increased risk of deportation.
Two weeks ago, many of us followed the heartbreaking story of Guadalupe García de Rayos—an undocumented immigrant and the mother of two American-born children, who was deported after reporting dutifully for eight years to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). After being returned to Mexico, a country where she hadn’t been for over 20 years, she had this to say about why she remained in the country illegally:
"The truth is I was there [in the United States] for my children. For a better future. To work for them. And I don't regret it, because I did it for love," she said in a news conference Thursday night from Nogales, Mexico.
When you hear it like that, it’s hard to imagine not having empathy for her. But Trump’s immigration plans don’t include empathy, nor do they make provisions for mothers who love and want to stay with their children. More recently, we heard about another case of an undocumented mother, Jeanette Vizguerra, who also had been reporting to ICE for eight years, and had been allowed to stay in the country with her four children during that time.
But this week, Vizguerra took a different route. Fearing deportation, she took refuge in the First Unitarian Society in Denver and declared sanctuary. The decision proved prescient: The day of Vizguerra's scheduled check-in, ICE officials told her attorney that Vizguerra's request to remain in the country had been denied.
Luckily, churches have been preparing for this moment since the election. And they have plenty of practice.
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http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/a0nU6uSESVQ/-Churches-stand-up-to-Trump-s-oppressive-policies-offer-sanctuary-to-undocumented-immigrants
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