Theology Christian Ethics

Case 16.2: Churches as Sanctuaries

for the Undocumented

In recent months, immigration enforcement authorities in your state have strengthened

the ways immigration laws are enforced with stronger emphasis on discovering

Immigration, Refugees, and Border Control 479

who is undocumented and taking steps to deport them. As a result, many undocumented

immigrants are understandably fearful of being deported back to their

country of origin. They also fear being forcibly separated from their families, since

some of their children are citizens, by virtue of being born in the country. Your

city has designated itself as a “sanctuary city,” meaning that it will help undocumented

immigrants avoid detection and deportation, sometimes in defiance of

federal immigration laws. Your church has been involved with serving immigrant

communities in your area for several years in obedience to the biblical mandate

to care for the most vulnerable in the community. Your church provides literacy

skills, job training, and tutoring for education, as well as medical, dental, and legal

services. The church also runs regular Bible clubs for kids in the community. Local

leaders have consistently praised the churches who serve these people and have

credited your church and others serving like yours, for the decrease in the crime

rate in the city. The families you know are hardworking and otherwise law-abiding

men and women, often with small children to support. The threat of deportation

for these families is real since most of them are not in the country legally. But you

recognize that the immigration laws are clearly broken and unfair in many ways.

Your church is considering becoming a sanctuary for some of the people who would

be facing deportation. You realize that in doing so your church would be violating

immigration law, but, in your view, to turn a blind eye to those