February 7, 2017
Good morning,
The Metropolitan District Office has received notice of your interest in becoming a Sanctuary Church. Please see the information below.
Thank you.
What does it mean to be a “Sanctuary Church”
Sanctuary churches agree to provide a 24-hour emergency number for contact. Sanctuary is basically prison and New Sanctuary Coalition will do everything to get people back out. The church will provide short-term emergency housing. New Sanctuary Coalition will provide volunteers for legal assistance and relocation.
What are the requirements to serve as a sanctuary church?
A sanctuary church is just that – provides safe sanctuary inside the church on a very short-term basis. The immigrant can sleep in the pews; no beds or cots are required. New Sanctuary Coalition volunteers will assist with food, legal advice and reaching out to ICE. If the situation persists, New Sanctuary Coalition will relocate the person to long-term housing.
Do we have to supply beds? Air mattresses?
No, this is an emergency situation. Again, the immigrant seeking refuge could sleep in the pews. This is a situation where the person is looking for very short-term housing.
What about Food? Does the church need a functioning kitchen?
If the church does not have food or a functioning kitchen that is fine. New Sanctuary Coalition will organize for volunteers to take meals. Volunteers from New Sanctuary will provide meals so this is not a burden on the church.
Legal Liabilities
Everyone always wants to know are we breaking the law? NO!
There is a law against bringing in and harboring persons not authorized to be in the U.S.
[1] While we are clearly not bringing people in, whether we are harboring someone is up for interpretation. Some courts have interpreted harboring to require concealment of a person. When we declare Sanctuary for an individual we are bringing them into the light of the community, not concealing them in the dark of secrecy.
[2] Other courts have interpreted harboring to be simple sheltering.
[3] Those who are entering sanctuary will most likely have an opportunity to win relief from deportation, this means that they are not a high priority for deportation and that ICE can and should grant them prosecutorial discretion. In essence, the Sanctuary Movement is holding the administration accountable to their own standards and guidelines as put forth by the President’s Executive Actions.
The space of sanctuary is sacred. Immigration officials know that if they went into a house of worship to arrest a pastor they would have a public relations nightmare on their hands. To date no one has ever been arrested for offering Sanctuary.
Having read the information above, are you willing to become a sanctuary church?
Please reply to this email and confirm or decline your interest.
