DENVER \u2013 Places of worship are known as places to find comfort in faith, and a group of Denver faith leaders also wants to offer relief from the threat of deportation to members of the immigrant community.<\/p>\n
This week, five congregations announced the formation of the Metro Denver Sanctuary Coalition. It will offer a refuge to people such as Jenny, who is facing the threat of deportation. She explained her thoughts, as translated by an interpreter.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, a sanctuary represents another option for those of us who have no other legal way to keep fighting our cases,\u201d she said, \u201cbecause the system is so broken.\u201d<\/p>\n
Successful sanctuary programs operate in other cities such as Tucson, Arizona, and Philadelphia. Sanctuary is not a legal immigration claim or status, but organizers say church involvement has had success in other cities where sanctuary programs exist.<\/p>\n
An informational session is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday at the First Unitarian Society of Denver, 1400 Lafayette St., Denver.<\/p>\n
Kate Burns, a member of the First Unitarian Denver congregation, said faith involvement sometimes offers immigrants a level of protection.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reason for that is ICE is very reluctant to cross church doors,\u201d she said, \u201cSo, it\u2019s just a way to ensure that the immigrant gets real protection, by staying on the church property.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jenny said a \u201csanctuary\u201d provides her much-needed relief from the threat of leaving her three American-born children, or being forced to take them back to Mexico and away from the only life they\u2019ve known in the United States.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, this gives us another option to continue resisting our deportations,\u201d she said. \u201cIt gives us the chance to take a breath and continue to work with the community to fight our individual cases.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another part of the Metro Denver sanctuary effort includes educating their congregations and local communities about the problems immigrants face with the current state of the U.S. immigration system.<\/p>\n
More information is online at afsc.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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