January 11, 2017
M artin L uther K ing J r .
Page 17
2017 special edition
A Refuge for Immigrants in Uncertain Times
c onTinued froM P age 4
takes to provide safe keeping for
immigrants who face deportation
by ICE.
“It’s a big commitment for the
person doing it,” he told Portland
Observer. “The courage is not the
congregation; the courage is the
person who goes into the sanctu-
ary. You’ve got to be public about
it, you’re not hiding somebody.
They are coming to live here,
while you work things out.”
In the early 1980’s a group led
by Jim Corbett, a Quaker, formed
a series of sanctuary churches in
Texas and the Southwest to help
immigrants fleeing violent coun-
tries and who were at risk of de-
portation by the United States
back to uncertain futures.
The network of churches was
based upon a 19th century system
called the Underground Railroad
which gave safety to escaped
slaves from Southern plantations
as they made their way to the free
states in the North. Jim Corbett
and the others who launched the
Sanctuary Movement to help Cen-
tral and South American refugees
were brought to trial but exonerat-
ed of committing any crime.
By the early 1990’s the Sanc-
tuary Movement had died out. In
1996, shortly after Pastor Knutson
arrived at Augustana Lutheran, he
declared the church a sanctuary to
provide a safe place for undocu-
mented women in abusive house-
holds. By doing so, Augustana
became one of the first churches
to create a new Sanctuary Move-
ment. Since that time, it’s esti-
mated that churches have helped
at least 15 undocumented persons
across the country by giving them
sanctuary.
Pastor Knutson’s wife is Af-
rican American and he knows
Portland’s black community well.
His work has been to build a
multi-national, multi-generational
congregation. The people who fill
Augustana’s pews each weekend
reflect his dedication. There’s as
many 65 year olds, as millennial;
a cross section of every shade of
color; LGBTQ members join in
prayer; a group of Native Ameri-
cans practice their spiritual tradi-
tions in a neighboring room.
The mixed-use church is also
home to social justice organiza-
tions, The Community Alliance
of Tenants, Wells Art Institute,
Familias en Accion, the Interfaith
Movement for Immigrant Justice
and more.
Pastor Knutson has some ad-
vice for other places of worship
who are considering becoming
sanctuaries for undocumented im-
migrants, “You are not by yourself.
You are part of this bigger move-
ment of people of faith, Christian,
Jewish and Muslim who want to
Pastor Mark Knutson of northeast Portland’s Augustana Lutheran Church leads a protest in support
of Francisco Aguirre, a Portland resident and immigrant trying to stay in the United States with his
wife and two small children.
for them.
“That’s the number one thing
right now in this society. Reach
out. Given the direction we could
go, not just Latino neighbors, but
also Muslim neighbors. Immi-
grant neighbors from other places
may feel under siege. That could
be the blessing in this, a very scary
time, if people start reaching out
to each other, our communities be-
come stronger, and that’s big. That
could be what we should be doing
anyway. “
Right now ICE will not move
into churches or hospitals, but
Pastor Knutson believes that could
change under Trump’s presiden-
cy. He observes that schools and
universities haven’t had hands-on
experience being sanctuaries, yet.
He says they still have to figure
out how that will work for them.
Pastor Knutson believes the
local and state governments must
help reinforce the sanctuary val-
ues, “We need to keep having that
strong conversation around race,
culture, gender, inclusiveness, and
equity,” he said. “If you look at
the people who are being deport-
ed they’re from Central and South
America, Syria and Haiti. These
are issues of race. This is an is-
sue where we, as Oregonians and
Portlanders, can say, we are not
going backward.”
keep families intact on the path to World Services to promote and who want to help is to support
citizenship. I encourage churches provide information about sanctu- sanctuary churches and to get to
just to do it. The key is to cultivate ary churches.
know your immigrant neighbors
lots of relationships in the com-
His advice to Portland residents and let them know you are there
munity. That’s ongoing for any
justice work, right? You cultivate
as a congregation lots of relation-
ships. Even if you’re not ready,
the resources will follow.”
A host of churches, schools
and universities in Portland have
pledged to be a sanctuary for
immigrants since the election of
Donald Trump as president who
ran a campaign against undocu-
mented immigrants from Mexico
and Muslim refugees for war torn
countries in Africa and the Middle
East.
Under the law, there is a tra-
dition in Judaism, Christianity
and Common Law of respecting
sanctuary and the right of habeas
corpus. But, tradition is not a le-
gal precedent or a binding legal
agreement. In the broadest terms,
declaring sanctuary means that
local law enforcement, jails and
politicians will not cooperate or
give resources in helping federal
authorities arrest and deport im-
migrants.
“The bigger piece to sanctu-
ary is that God created the world
and intended it to be a place safe
for human beings, Knudson said.
“ We don’t live the world that
3311 NE MLK Jr. Blvd, Portland OR 97212
way, so that’s why we have to cre-
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ate sanctuaries in the mean time.
Until the world is the sanctuary
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God intended, we have to do it in
smaller spaces.”
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Pastor Knutson works with
churches all over Oregon and
the national organization Church
Saluting Martin Luther King Jr.
TWO LOCATIONS
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