Amidst US immigration crackdown, sanctuary advocates want temples, gurudwaras to join network

As US President Donald Trump has hypercharged his campaign against undocumented immigrants, supporters of the sanctuary movement that started in the 1980s to protect refugees have intensified their efforts to draw more organisations into their networks.

In the early days of the sanctuary movement, individual churches would offer shelter to undocumented immigrants who had exhausted their legal options to remain in the country. It expanded to entire cities, such as New York, San Francisco, Chicago and Los Angeles, which adopted sanctuary policies that limit federal immigration enforcement.

Ravi Ragbir, who heads the New York-based New Sanctuary Coalition, an immigrant rights organisation, explains the idea of sanctuary has always been rooted in faith traditions of welcoming strangers. That is why he is pushing to get gurudwaras and Hindu temples to join the network.

“It is this sense of religious hospitality that helped the movement thrive in the 1980s,” said the immigrant from Trinidad.

Advocating for the rights of undocumented immigrants is not a popular position. Since Trump began his second term in January, 197,000 people have been deported from the US, while 61,000 are in detention for allegedly having broken immigration laws. Trump’s supporters have applauded his actions and have called for even harsher measures.

In March, the Trump administration rescinded the...

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