450 Churches Prepare to Act as Trump-Era 'Underground Railroad' for Undocumented Immigrants David Ferguson - Raw Story
go to original December 29, 2016

Fugitive slaves fleeing from Eastern Maryland to an Underground Railroad depot in Delaware 1863 (Shutterstock.com)

A network of 450 houses of worship across the country are stepping up to act as a kind of “underground railroad” for undocumented immigrants under the nascent Donald Trump administration.

The New York Times said that these churches, synagogues and mosques are all part of the Sanctuary Movement — an interfaith movement that began in the 1960s, but which has undergone a revival in recent years as the U.S. has stepped up deportation of undocumented immigrants.

The Sanctuary Movement has gained even more momentum since the election of Republican Donald Trump, who has pledged to deport 2 to 3 million unauthorized immigrants who he says are guilty of crimes. While not every church has the space and resources necessary to physically shelter immigrants, all 450 organizations have pledged to provide “money, legal aid, food, child care or transportation,” said the Times‘ Laurie Goodstein.

“Jesus said we are to provide hospitality to the stranger,” said the Rev. Robin Hynicka of New York City’s Arch Street United Methodist Church. The Times noted that Hynicka cited “Matthew 25, in which Jesus instructs his followers to feed, house and clothe ‘the least of these,’ the poor and vulnerable.”

Hynicka’s church is serving as a physical sanctuary for Javier Flores Garcia, a father of two who was ordered to report to immigration authorities for deportation in the fall. Rather than leave his partner, their two children and a 13-year-old stepdaughter behind, Flores has taken refuge in Arch Street’s basement.

Immigration authorities consider hospitals, schools and churches to be “sensitive locations” — places where they are ordered not to make arrests unless they receive explicit permission from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) supervisor or there are “exigent circumstances” that require immediate action.

Read the rest at Raw Story

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