In the name of God

An op-ed: on remembrance and the prophetic imagination

“What can we do?” This is the question many of us are asking ourselves as we witnessed the inauguration of the second term of Donald Trump. What is our role as people of faith who care about the well-being of folks who experience illegality within the nation-state of the United States? I believe that to answer these questions, we must look at the history of the Sanctuary Movement.

The United States’ involvement in El Salvador led to the deaths of thousands of people. Monseñor Oscar Romero chose action in his Christian faith to speak up against the suffering of the Salvadoran people. As Salvadorans fled to the United States, the Sanctuary Movement was born.

In the 1970s, after becoming the fourth Archbishop of El Salvador, Monseñor Oscar Romero became an outspoken advocate against the right-wing military regime, backed by the United States government, who were killing the campesinos and the poor in rural communities. Although Romero began his ministry with a more conservative view of the church and its connection to the world, he could no longer ignore the atrocities and suffering Salvadorans were experiencing.

Only a month before his assassination, Romero sent a letter to President Jimmy Carter asking him to stop sending military aid to El Salvador. Appealing to Carter’s Christian faith and his own faith, Romero writes:

“Because you are a Christian and because you have shown that you want to defend human rights…[and because] I have an obligation to see that faith and justice reign in my country…”

Unfortunately, the Carter administration dismissed the words of Monseñor Romero, with his administration providing more than ten million dollars in military aid to El Salvador. A year later, the Reagan administration continued to send military aid to El Salvador while at the same time refusing to provide refugee status to Salvadorans who were fleeing the country due to extremely violent conditions caused by the U.S.-backed political unrest.

By not receiving refugee status, Salvadoran migrants became undocumented, facing deportation proceedings upon arrival. It is in this context that the Sanctuary Movement was born in the United States. As Sergio M. Gonzalez writes, religious leaders and lay leaders became aware of the risks many Salvadorans and Central Americans would face upon returning to their home countries. Although not everyone understood the political reasons for displacement, many US church members quoted their faith traditions as the reason for walking with those fleeing persecution. Many provided shelter, food, and accompaniment in the desolate journey of displacement.

Although the Sanctuary Movement came to a halt, with different iterations of it still happening today, the Sanctuary Movement left us with lessons of love, mutual aid, and an ethic of care that can be imitated and adjusted to fit the current historical moment we’re living in today.

As much as we witnessed the inauguration on Monday, we also witnessed the prophetic voice of Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde as she spoke to the 47th president of the United States with courage and invoked the love of the Word of God:

In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country. We’re scared now. The people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meatpacking plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals. They may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes, and are good neighbors. They are faithful members of our churches and mosques, synagogues, gurdwara, and temples. I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away, and that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here.

As I heard her voice, I couldn't help but think of the countless sermons of Oscar Romero as he dared to speak the truth of the Gospel.

Today, may we remember their words and let our hearts be moved to action by the pain of others as the Sanctuary Movement did. May the long legacy of radical prophetic imagination be our guide.

---

Author’s note: I’d like to thank Dr. Jorge Rodriguez, who gently encouraged me to publish this after a slightly different version of this op-ed was presented in class for an assignment. I am grateful for his continued support.