Southern Arizona congregations are forming a new coalition of multiple faiths to provide haven to undocumented refugees and immigrants.
The coalition, which made the announcement Jan. 18, 2017, is part of a national Sanctuary Movement made up by more than 800 religious congregations.
The declaration comes in response to President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to round up and deport up to 3 million immigrants with criminal records, including misdemeanor traffic violations.
“The safe havens are the ones that we create,” said the Rev. Alison Harrington, pastor of Southside Presbyterian Church, 317 W. 23rd Street. She spoke at a news conference where more than 20 congregations in Southern Arizona were represented.
About 100 people took a pledge to support and provide sanctuary to those here illegally working in hopes of providing better lives for their families. Now these undocumented immigrants fear deportation and their families being split apart.
“We are veterans in this fight for justice,” said Harrington, referring to religious communities who have provided shelter, food, water and legal representation to immigrants in need.
Rosa Robles Loreto, who ended 15 months in sanctuary at Southside in 2015 to avoid being deported, said through tears: “This community is willing to help and walk along our journey.”
She said Trump has let undocumented immigrants know that “he is not with us, and this church and others are willing to walk along this journey with us.”
Robles Loreto moved into the church when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a deportation order Aug. 8, 2014. The order stemmed from a traffic stop for an incorrect lane change.
ICE maintained that she was not a high priority for deportation. Once Robles Loreto left sanctuary, her Attorney Margo Cowan said she reached a confidential agreement with federal immigration authorities that allows Robles Loreto to live without fear of deportation.
Southside Presbyterian Church was the birthplace for the Sanctuary Movement of the 1980s, which aided Central Americans who said they were fleeing their countries because of religious and political persecution.
The religious congregations also will work to protect those brought to this country illegally as children but who had not yet turned 30 when the Deferred Action Childhood Arrival program was created under President Obama’s administration in 2012. This includes youths, who are also known as Dreamers, who hope to attain a college education.
The declaration from Tucson faith leaders comes as part of the Sanctuary Movement’s National Week of Action.
