Sanctuary Without Safety

By Richard Stengel

Churches are facing prosecution for sheltering refugees

From Tucson's modest Southside Presbyterian Church to New York City's towering Riverside Church, more than 150 congregations across the country are currently defying federal law by appealing to a higher authority. All of them are offering what they consider the "age-old" right of sanctuary to illegal Central American refugees. This growing national ecumenical network, which objects to U.S. policy in Central America but justifies its own actions on humanitarian grounds, is triggering what may become a serious confrontation between church and state.

Last week in Brownsville, Texas, Mennonite Lay Worker Stacey Lynn Merkt, 29, became the first member of the sanctuary movement to be prosecuted by the Federal Government for aiding illegal immigrants. Others await trial, and despite fears that the Merkt case signals a wave of prosecutions, sanctuary leaders plan to continue their work. Says the Rev. Gregory Dell, whose Wheadon United Methodist Church in Evanston, Ill, is sheltering two Salvadorans: "The basic style of churches is not to break any more laws than necessary. But we're not going to abandon refugees who are the subject of injustice, regardless of the laws of the United States."

The Government considers aliens from most Central American countries economic refugees, thus not eligible for justified asylum. However, the House of Representatives last week passed the Simpson-Mazzoli immigration bill, which would offer amnesty to aliens who have lived continuously in the U.S. prior to Jan. 1, 1982. This bill must be reconciled with the Senate version, which would establish a date several years earlier. According to John Fife, a leader in the sanctuary movement, this legislation would single out those people who do not qualify under the new guidelines -- and also those who offer them shelter. "The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service," he believes, will "become much more punitive toward refugees and sanctuary workers alike." What is even more disturbing about these bills, according to Fife and his colleagues, is that they do not make moral distinctions. Notes Brother Philip of Weston Priory in Weston, Vt., which shelters a Guatemalan family of seven: "When you call these people illegal aliens, you obscure the issues. As citizens of this country, we have a very clear responsibility for the condition that made them refugees."

It is precisely this political conviction that disturbs INS officials, causing them to question the motives of the movement. Says INS Spokesman Verne Jervis: "What these churches are doing is making a statement of protest against our Government's position in Central America. If they're just interested in helping these people, they can assist them legally by helping the aliens in asylum applications."

Neither legislation nor the threat of prosecution by the INS has deterred churches from following what they regard as their ancient calling. "We are aware that because of the interpretation of the law, there is a very real risk," says Brother Philip. "But there are some risks that are greater. For us not to respond is assuming a greater risk in conscience. ' '

-- By Richard Stengel

-- Reported by Adam Cohen/Boston, with other bureaus

With reporting by ADAM COHEN