Thread by @jackmjenkins

1. Look, there's a LOT of news right now, but this is something I think is worth paying attention to.

Faith leaders are condemning the arrest of an undocumented immigrant *on church grounds* by ICE, arguing it violates govt “sensitive locations” policy. religionnews.com/2020/09/21/ice…

2. This is a *significant* development.

For several years now, religious groups have participated in the “New Sanctuary Movement,” in which participants let undocumented immigrants at risk of deportation live in houses of worship in hopes their cases will be dropped.

3. The movement — which started under Obama — essentially holds the federal government to its word, relying on the fact that it the 2011-era internal policy will be enforced.

But under the Trump administration, things have escalated.

4. In 2018, ICE agents arrested churchgoers who surrounded a van to stop the detention of an immigrant who had been taking sanctuary in their church but left briefly.

In 2019, the Trump admin began imposing hundreds of thousands of dollars of fines on immigrants in sanctuary.

5. Both of these incidents were covered at length by my colleague @YonatShimron here: religionnews.com/2018/11/29/san…

And here: religionnews.com/2019/07/03/san…

6. This year, the govt became embroiled in a lawsuit over accusations it surveilled and investigated a NY pastor and sanctuary activist over allegations that she committed marriage fraud by…officiating immigrant weddings along the U.S.-Mexico border. religionnews.com/2020/01/09/new…

7. Now, faith leaders allege, ICE is openly violating the memo to apprehend an immigrant who lived *on church grounds.*

This is, and always ways, a brazenly religious issue — but is rarely given the same energy as, say, religious opposition abortion or same-sex marriage.

8. To my knowledge, none of the typical religious liberty hawks/Christian leaders have commented about this case, or escalating tensions.

This despite accounts of govt agents on church property, separating a family of *Christian church workers seeking religious asylum.*

9. According to the pastor of the immigrant who was detained, when he was led away by ICE, his daughter reached for her phone.

She asked him to say goodbye, and hit record.

She wanted to remember her father’s voice.

10. To be clear: The sensitive locations memo is a policy, NOT law.

But Dem lawmakers have introduced a bill in Congress that would give it legal teeth.

It’s backed by Harris, Warren, Klobuchar, Sanders, Booker and non-senators like Pete Buttigieg. religionnews.com/2019/10/15/cas…

11. By the way: The New Sanctuary Movement has its roots in a related faith-based movement from the 1980s. It's where "sanctuary cities" came from, and I dedicate an entire chapter on the movement in my book American Prophets: amazon.com/American-Proph…

12. Anyway, there's a lot going on here, but it's a *significant* religion story nonetheless.

Read more here: religionnews.com/2020/09/21/ice…

13. UPDATE: ICE sent @RNS a statement insisting that "ICE's sensitive locations policy remains in effect" and "respects the rights of all faiths to worship."

But ICE would not address Qs of whether agents violated the policy.

Full statement in story: religionnews.com/2020/09/21/ice…