NEWBERRY — The congregation of Clayton Memorial Unitarian Universalist Church announced this week that they will be a sanctuary church, meaning they will house individuals from the immigrant community who have been ordered deported.
“For decades now, under the leadership of both parties, our country has conducted incoherent and often unjust immigration policy. In order to fulfill a principal of our faith, which affirms the inherent worth and dignity of every person, and to carry out its call to challenge injustice with courage. We are today announcing Clayton Memorial Unitarian Universalist Church is a sanctuary church,” said Pastor Michelle Robinson. “Our intention is to offer sanctuary to a few carefully selected individuals from the immigrant community who have been ordered deported, and we feel have not received the full benefit of due process of the law.”
Robinson continued by saying that while these individuals are guests of the church, they will make every effort to help them navigate the legal system to attempt to have the deportation order overturned.
“We call upon people of faith and goodwill to challenge our political leadership to create an immigration policy that is not fear based, but treats others the way we would want to be treated ourselves,” she said.
Same Stone, chairman of the church’s board, said those individuals who have been ordered deported will be carefully selected, and will live in the Fellowship Hall in the sanctuary. He noted that they will not invite individuals with a criminal record.
“It has been some months, April is when we first started talking about it, educating ourselves on the issue, making an informed decision,” he said. “Our focus will be on the people from Newberry County, given preference. This is statewide, and goes beyond statewide response.”
Someone who will live at the sanctuary will be under the protection of the church, according to Stone, and will not be able to leave the church grounds. This is not to say they cannot leave if they choose, but if they do they could be taken into custody.
“Internal policies (of federal agencies) make churches, hospitals, schools, designated as sensitive locations where normal enforcement procedures are not conducted,” Stone said.
Stone said the hope going forward is to challenge people of faith in South Carolina, to live out the principals of their faith, and to try and begin a conversation which results in an immigrating policy that treats people fairly.
The church will have to conduct some renovations of the fellowship hall before they can invite individuals to the church. Once that is complete, they will invite one or two individuals to the sanctuary. Construction should begin at the beginning of the year.
“In terms of numbers, we thought we’d serve one or two,” said Marsha DeRosier, church member. “We are not doing it because it is political, because it is noteworthy, because of anything. Thing is it is the right thing to do, and we are able to do it, we have a space to offer somebody. Someone would want to do this, because it wouldn’t be easy.”
When it comes to the law, Stone acknowledged that this is illegal. Sheriff Lee Foster, during an interview outside of the press conference with this reporter, said they (the Sheriff’s Office) believe it is not legal, and it would be the same as harboring a wanted person.
“However, the state of South Carolina, and the County of Newberry, as far as law enforcement goes, cannot enforce that law because it is a federal immigration statute, sole jurisdiction lies with the federal government,” Foster said. “We have talked with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and they do not see it as a big issue. We have talked with our federal legislators, and they all agree that is not a legal action, but it is the responsibility of the Department of Homeland Security and ICE.”
Foster added that ICE said nothing has happened as of yet, therefore there is nothing to worry about.
“Our stance is still the same, it is a federal statue, unless someone in that church has violated local or state law, we have no jurisdiction of that,” Foster said.
If someone who was seeking sanctuary at the church were to commit a state or local crime, Foster said they would take them to the Newberry County Jail, they would meet justice locally, and they would then be turned over to the federal customs enforcement.
“We will remain vigilant, been told by the church leaders that they will harbor no one that is a criminal, someone facing deportation for crimes against a person or crimes of violence. However, they plan on harboring people they feel are unjustly being deported,” Foster said.
Foster added that he is sympathetic to the fact that a person would want to come to this country, but if you come to this country, they’ve got to obey the laws.
