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- The Sanctuary movement was a religious and political campaign in the United States that began in the early 1980s to provide safe haven for Central American refugees fleeing civil conflict. The movement was a response to federal immigration policies that made obtaining asylum difficult for Central Americans. At its peak, Sanctuary involved over 500 congregations in the United States, which, by declaring themselves official "sanctuaries," committed to providing shelter, protection, material goods and often legal advice to Central American refugees. Various denominations were involved, including Lutherans, United Church of Christ, Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, Jews, Unitarian Universalists, Quakers, and Mennonites. Movement members acted both in defiance of federal laws (civil disobedience) and as citizens upholding laws they thought their government was violating (civil initiative). Several prominent Sanctuary figures were arrested and put on trial in the mid 1980s, including its two "founders", John Fife and James A. Corbett. The movement's historical roots derive from the right of sanctuary in medieval law and Jewish and Christian social teachings. Its contemporary roots derive from the American Civil War and its Underground Railroad as well as the sanctuaries offered to conscientious objectors during the Vietnam War. (en)
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