It’s the early 1980s.
US-backed wars are wreaking havoc across Central America.
And, in particular, El Salvador and Guatemala.
Authoritarian governments have unleashed waves of violence on their populations.
Trained death squads disappeared thousands.
There are raids. US-backed massacres.
One after the next.
And so tens of thousands of people begin to flee to the one place they believe they may be safe…
The United States.
The very country helping to instigate the violence in their homelands.
But the United States says they are not welcome.
President Ronald Reagan refuses to admit that these thousands are fleeing abuses and government repression back home, because it will bar the US from funneling more support to the authoritarian Central American regimes…
So Reagan calls them “economic migrants.”
Fleeing not violence, but poverty.
And this bars them from receiving asylum.
But if the US government will not respond, others will stand up…
“…A government that has failed in its responsibility to society, so other institutions must act.”
Local residents in Tucson, Arizona, begin to provide aid and assistance to the waves of Central American migrants that are arriving to the US border.
In March 1982, on the second anniversary of the killing of El Salvador’s Archbishop Óscar Romero, Tucson’s Southside Presbyterian Church declared itself a sanctuary for migrants in need.
They hang a banner outside the church. It reads: “This is a Sanctuary for the Oppressed of Central America.”
John Fife was the minister of that church and one of the founders of the Sanctuary Movement.
“Basic human rights had been violated in systematic ways. And every other possibility had been exhausted… And so the church in Tucson, Arizona remembered that God had given the communities of faith an ancient gift called sanctuary. That the church was given that gift by God to save lives, to keep families intact, to say to the government you have absolutely failed in your responsibility to do justice and therefore that failure means that the community of faith has been given a gift by God to stand up and in nonviolent direct ways say no to more deportations. No to more devastation of families.”
Other churches joined Southside Presbyterian. They would take in migrants and refugees. They would shelter them against government agents and border patrol.
A new underground railroad for Central Americans fleeing US-backed violence abroad.
It quickly became a national movement.
Within three years, 500 churches, synagogues and university campuses had joined and were actively protecting Central American migrants.
Good samaritans standing for their Central American brothers and sisters.
“On any given night there might be from two to 25 [refugees] sleeping in the church,” said one member of Southside Presbyterian. “The congregation set up a one-room apartment for them behind the chapel. When that was full, they slept on foam pads in the Sunday school wing.”
The US government responded. The Justice Department indicted 16 people for aiding undocumented immigrants.
“If I am guilty of anything, I am guilty of the Gospel,” said one defendant.
People protested at immigration departments in numerous cities.
Half of those indicted were found guilty of human smuggling. Most received light sentences.
Finally, in 1990, Congress approved temporary protected status to Central Americans in need.
A tremendous victory that would benefit hundreds of thousands… millions of people.
But the struggle continues.
In recent decades, a New Sanctuary Movement has begun to fight to end injustices against immigrants regardless of immigration status.
Under Donald Trump’s first administration, the concept of sanctuary cities arose to respond to government policies that pushed deportations and immigrant crackdowns.
All of this is more important than ever… NOW.
Whereas in the past police and immigration officials were instructed not to arrest people in sensitive places, like churches. That policy has now been overturned.
Trump has unleashed a war on US immigrants… suspending visas and green cards and removing resident status at will.
But people are pushing back.
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Thanks for listening. I’m your host, Michael Fox.
This is episode 32 of Stories of Resistance — a podcast co-produced by The Real News and Global Exchange. Independent investigative journalism, supported by Global Exchange’s Human Rights in Action program. Each week, I bring you stories of resistance like this. Inspiration for dark times.
If you like what you hear, please subscribe, like, share, comment, leave a review, or tell a friend. You can also check out exclusive pictures, follow my reporting, and support my work at my patreon, www.patreon.com/mfox.
Thanks for listening. See you next time.
This is episode 32 of Stories of Resistance — a podcast co-produced by The Real News and Global Exchange. Independent investigative journalism, supported by Global Exchange’s Human Rights in Action program. Each week, we’ll bring you stories of resistance like this. Inspiration for dark times.
If you like what you hear, please subscribe, like, share, comment, or leave a review. You can also follow Michael’s reporting and support at www.patreon.com/mfox.
Written and produced by Michael Fox.
Resources
Below are several short videos about the Sanctuary Movement.
This link includes an excellent talk from Presbyterian minister John Fife, which we used part of for the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwHOACm3Yaw
Sanctuary Movement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUzhG8kp8E8
1980′ Sanctuary Movement was about Politics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NM8NsDpDGE
The Sanctuary Movement (Part 2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZwfdVbhsYM
Sanctuary Movement / Central Americans Refugees 1981: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0N_shkAOcc
This content originally appeared on The Real News Network and was authored by Michael Fox.