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Grand Rapids first sanctuary church opens

Flickr User Neil Williamson
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https://flic.kr/p/odC5T4

After President Donald Trump said this week he plans to crack down on sanctuary cities, the first sanctuary church in the Grand Rapids area is opening its doors.

“Why are we so stuck on this, ‘well, they’re a bunch of quote-unquote illegals.’ There is no such thing. No child of God, no human person can be illegal. So quite frankly, who am I to deny you or anyone else their innate dignity?”

That is the Rev. Justo Gonzalez II, southwest area minister for the Michigan Conference of the United Church of Christ. He says, as the first sanctuary church in the Grand Rapids area, his church in Wyoming, is open to anyone who fears deportation by immigration officials.

“We don’t want people feeling like they are walking into a shelter, but rather that you are entering your home and that is a comfortable welcoming space for them. It really is all about hospitality and extravagant welcome.” 

That extravagant welcome includes comfortable beds, shower facilities, a full kitchen and individual rooms for families. Having already received a number of hateful phone messages, Gonzalez says, he understands that there are inherent dangers to providing shelter to undocumented immigrants. 

“The reality is there are consequences to what we are doing. If you believe President Trump, you’d believe that I, as a Latino male, am MS-13. That I am a rapist, that I am a drug lord, that I am murder you and kill you. Well, it’s true. I am going to murder you with kindness. I am going to kill you with love. But we are not the fake news that this administration is trying to portray us as.”

The sanctuary church is open to anyone who wants to come in other than U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. Gonzalez says he will only allow them to come in with a warrant.