Religion and Politics

Edith Espinal Has Spent 18 Months Hiding from ICE in a Church. How Much Longer Will the Authorities Let Her Stay?

For The New Republic, Stephanie Russell-Kraft profiles Edith Espinal, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico with a deportation notice who has taken sanctuary in Ohio’s Columbus Mennonite Church since October 2017. Russell-Kraft writes, “Her security at Columbus Mennonite is based largely on the assumption that ICE officers won’t enter a church building. This isn’t law, but rather a policy established in a 2011 memo by then-ICE Director John Morton.” The number of people seeking sanctuary has increased under Trump’s presidency due to a series of executive actions, and activists are beginning to worry that authorities will disregard their long-standing respect for religious institutions and begin to breach sensitive locations to deport immigrants.

Read at The New Republic

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