A limited podcast series about the politics of immigration, faith as radical hospitality, and the borders between church and state.

In the spring of 1982, six faith communities in Arizona and California declared themselves places of safe harbor for hundreds of thousands of Salvadorans and Guatemalans that had been denied legal proceedings for political asylum in the U.S. Alleging that immigration officials had intentionally miscategorized Central Americans as ‘economic migrants’ in order to accelerate their deportation, humanitarian organizations, legal advocates, and religious bodies sought alternatives for aid within their faiths’ scriptural teachings and the juridical parameters offered by international and national human rights and refugee law. Known as the Sanctuary Movement, this decade-long interfaith mobilization spurred congressional action in support of Central American asylees by the 1990s and served as the model for a renewed movement for sanctuary in support of undocumented Americans in the twenty-first century.

Every episode in the series draws upon extensive archival data from across the country in order to offer new interpretations of the Sanctuary Movement and introduce public audiences to the primary voices and sources within the faith communities and grassroots organizations at its core. To date, there is no resource that provides a reliable and relevant examination of the movement from the 1980s to the present. “Sanctuary: On the Border Between Church and State” proposes to do exactly this and thus chart new directions for one of the nation’s most confrontational religious movements.

Produced by the Institute for Religion, Media, and Civic Engagement. Generous support provided by the Henry Luce Foundation. Additional support was given by the American Academy of Religion and Amherst College.

Creators: Dr. Lloyd Barba (Faculty, Amherst College) and Dr. Sergio Gonzalez (Faculty, Marquette University)

Executive Producer: Dr. Bradley Onishi

Sound Engineer and Score: Scott Okamoto

Production Assistance: Kari Onishi

Distributed by Axis Mundi Media