The cause is more urgent than ever, a coalition of four Colorado Springs churches said in announcing Monday it would offer sanctuary to immigrants who have received final deportation orders.
The alliance, known as the Colorado Springs Sanctuary Coalition, includes All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church, First Congregational Church, First United Methodist Church and the Colorado Springs Friends Meeting, as well as immigrant and community leaders. The All Souls Unitarian Church will serve as the coalition’s host sanctuary church – the facility where immigrants facing deportation would be able to live while protected from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“We are troubled that the need for such a coalition even exists,” said Candace Datz, the primary organizer of the coalition and a member of First Congregational Church.
“Yet we find great purpose and hope in seeing our community stand up for the dignity of families and individuals in our city who are being unjustly targeted by racist and exclusive immigration laws and policies.”
“There is more urgency now more than ever to declare sanctuary status,” said the Rev. Dr. Nori Rost of All Souls. All Souls has the capacity to host one family at a time, a figure the coalition deemed adequate based on the demand faced by coalitions across the country.
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