NEW HAVEN — Nury Chavarria was to be on a plane to her native Guatemala Thursday evening.
Instead, she is seeking sanctuary inside Iglesias De Dios Pentecostal Church in New Haven.
What is a sanctuary church and is is it legal?
Churches have historically provided refuge for people fleeing oppression. In the 1980s, ministers in Arizona provided a place to stay for people fleeing unrest in Central America. But the precedent of protection goes back further. People involved in the sanctuary movement trace the concept to the Bible. They cite Numbers 35:14-15 which says, “Ye shall give three cities beyond the Jordan, and three cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan; they shall be cities of refuge. For the children of Israel, and for the stranger and for the sojourner among them, shall these six cities be for refuge.” The ministers in Arizona were eventually arrested, and convicted, but no one served time in prison for the offense.
The policy of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been to avoid making arrests at “sensitive locations,” including places of worship. ICE has said the policy is in place so people can participate in religious activities and services at sensitive places like churches without fear of being taken into custody. However, the policy does not specifically say people can stay at a church or religious site full time to avoid arrest. In some circumstances, with the authorization of officials, the agency will enter the house of worship.
Refugees can seek asylum in the United States for political reasons, if they have a “well-founded fear” they will be persecuted for their race, religion, nationality, social connections, or political opinions in the country they come from and the government there is doing the persecution or has no control over the persecution groups. Historically, those standards have been difficult to meet.
The Immigration and Nationality Act prohibits anyone from knowingly harboring an undocumented immigrant “in any place, including any building.” Those convicted of doing so risk years in prison.
Churches all over the country have provided space for people who are in fear of being deported, to spend long periods of time. In addition to New Haven, churches in Chicago, Denver and Cambridge Mass. have either opened their doors to refugees or plan to do so.
Since the election in November, 800 churches have said they are willing to offer sanctuary, an increase of 100 percent, according the Rev. Noel Anderson, national grassroots coordinator at Church World Service, a faith-based organization that helps the less fortunate.
Information from CNN is included in this story.
