Churches Cannot Provide Legal Sanctuary To Immigrants, Bishop Says

By JB Cachila, Christian Post Contributor Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Churches cannot act as "sanctuary" churches housing illegal immigrants because they cannot offer legal protection, a Roman Catholic Bishop has clarified.

Bishop Peter Libasci, of the Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire, said in a letter to clergy that churches in the diocese could not provide legal protection from authorities, the Union Leader reported. The letter was sent two days after the Rev. Joseph Gurdak, pastor of the St. Anne-St. Augustin Parish in Manchester, announced that the church would act as a sanctuary for illegal immigrants.

In the letter, Libasci said they have not designated their churches as sanctuary churches "in the sense of the word" because it might give fearful individuals the wrong idea that the church has the power to shield them from the law.

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"'Sanctuary' is not a designation recognized by law and provides no such legal protection," Libasci said.

Bishop Libasci said there was much confusion surrounding the idea of sanctuary churches. He said that while there are those who view churches as simply a "welcoming community" that can offer help to those who ask for it, there are those who wrongly view sanctuary churches as a place to live in to hide safely from law enforcement.

He said churches could not provide such legal shelter, and could not allow individuals fearing deportation to live inside them.

However, Bishop Libasci encouraged churches to extend a helping hand to those in need, adding that the church was committed to supporting immigration reform laws that would give immigrants the opportunity to acquire citizenship in the future.

'Wrestling' to protect

In the past few months, hundreds of churches have stepped up to show their support for illegal immigrants, NPR reported.

Adrian Florido, NPR Code Switch reporter, noted that many churches support immigrants in practical ways like giving them food or by going with them to meetings with immigration officers where deportation is a possible outcome. 

Florido noted that in the 80's, American clergy also tried to protect immigrants but were successfully prosecuted by the government. As such, today's churches are "wrestling" with the idea of supporting and protecting illegal immigrants.

Civil disobedience

New Hampshire Alliance for Immigrants and Refugees (NHAIR) executive director Eva Castillo, a native of Caracas, Venezuela, was disappointed in the Roman Catholic Church's position but said it was "not surprising".

Castillo said her group, which evolved from the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA), had been warning faith leaders about the legal repercussions of housing illegal immigrants, even just temporarily.

"This is an act of civil disobedience," she said, "and our advice to all of them has been that, if they agree to take on this role, they need to do it publicly."