Methodist group urges immigrant sanctuary

FORT WORTH - Churches must continue to shelter illegal immigrants although they may face legal repercussions, some Methodist ministers said Friday.

They said the new sanctuary movement, in which churches of various denominations nationwide provide refuge to illegal immigrants, is an important act of civil disobedience that challenges laws many consider unjust.

"The underground railroad would help take people to freedom. Well now, this new sanctuary movement is all about helping people find freedom and find hope for those who are enslaved by our current laws," said the Rev. Mary Ann Swenson, bishop of the California-Pacific Annual Conference.

The ministers spoke at a news conference organized by the United Methodist Church's immigration task force, which is presenting more comprehensive church legislation on immigration policy during a 10-day general conference in Fort Worth that ends next week.

The United Methodist Church allows but does not require churches to house illegal immigrants.

The new sanctuary movement, which organized last year, stems from a broader movement in the 1980s after some congregations provided help to thousands of refugees fleeing human rights violations in Central America, according to several involved groups.

Some of the ministers say the new sanctuary movement is important because like slaves, immigrants have been unable to fight for their own rights.

"The civil rights movement was led by African-Americans; the women's movement was led by women; the labor movement was led by workers," said the Rev. Walter Coleman, pastor of Chicago's Adalberto United Methodist Church. "Sanctuary was really just a way so that people could speak for themselves."

Coleman's church has been at the forefront of the issue. A woman stayed there for a year in defiance of a deportation order until she left to visit Los Angeles last year and was deported to Mexico.

The church did not participate in the movement as an act of defiance but as a way to help families who otherwise would be torn apart by deportation, Coleman said.

"Homeland Security is free to come into our church at any time, as they have made clear; we offer no resistance except our prayers," he said Friday. "We were then and are ready now to accept the consequences of our actions."

The Rev. David Farley, pastor of Echo Park United Methodist Church in Los Angeles, said his church also has provided shelter for illegal immigrants and their families.

"This not some immigration problem - this is a humanitarian crisis of tremendous proportions," Farley said. "This is a moral outrage. And I think it is an affront to God to criminalize and dehumanize and terrorize those of our fellow human beings who simply ask to be able to both provide for their families and live with their families."