Europe鈥檚 sanctuary movement: Why churches enter immigration debate
| Hamburg, Germany
On the outskirts of one of Germany鈥檚 wealthiest cities, inside a tangle of Brutalist-era high-rises, several 20-something housemates sit around a coffee table filled with their favorite snacks, telling war stories. They have traveled from Afghanistan to Iran to Turkey to Greece to Macedonia to Serbia to Hungary to Austria to Germany to Denmark to Sweden, and then back to Germany.
鈥淟ike tourists,鈥� says Taara, a young mother with a ready laugh, as she kneads her newborn鈥檚 feet.聽
Except they are not tourists. She and her husband Zemar have slept in the woods, gone hungry for days, been tear-gassed in refugee camps where security officials 鈥渦sed the stuff like water,鈥� and, tightly holding hands, fought their way onto trains at stations that felt more like 鈥淗unger Games鈥� sets than transit points. They have fled the Taliban and the prospect of death, and left those they love in search of safety and asylum in Europe.聽
Why We Wrote This
Congregations in Europe have taken dramatic steps to shield migrants. Are the churches right 鈥� are they taking a vital humanitarian stand 鈥� or are they going too far?
Now, they are living in a safe house.
The migrants (whose names have been changed to protect their identities) have received sanctuary from a German church and, for the past year, they have been living together with another family on church grounds. It is a comfortable space with macram茅 wall hangings, modest pine furniture, donated baby toys, and colorful homemade construction paper chains from a recent birthday celebration.聽
But there is potential danger beyond these walls, which is evident in the rules tacked up beside a schedule for German language lessons: Keep the address secret. No guests. No barbecuing. And if you step outside, it is at your own risk.
The group is being protected as part of a growing sanctuary movement taking root across parts of Europe aimed at preventing migrants from being deported back to war-wracked nations. From the Netherlands to Germany to Italy, churches have opened their doors to asylum-seekers, often in defiance of their governments, as countries have hardened their policies toward the influx of refugees and migrants.聽
The movement has been the most pronounced in Germany, which stands at the nexus of the refugee crisis in Europe. One year ago there were 374 active church asylum cases across Germany, sheltering 543 people. Today, the number has jumped to 532 church asylum cases offering protection to some 855 people, including 190 children.
Requests for asylum have increased dramatically in Germany, thanks to a backlog of cases in the courts that began in 2015, when, in the midst of the Syrian war, Europe received the largest influx of refugees since World War II.
The efforts to shield asylum-seekers from government deportation mirrors the American church sanctuary movement that began in the 1980s as refugees fled brutal dictatorships in Latin America. Today, the movements draw strength from one another: An American church in Columbus, Ohio, for example, recently sent its pastor to the Netherlands to keep a church service going and protect a family from deportation.聽
Yet while the challenge in the U.S. can be getting word out to refugee communities that churches can protect them, American pastors say, their German counterparts face a different problem: finding enough churches with the space to house all the denied asylum-seekers. The demand for sanctuary spaces in Germany outstrips supply by roughly 20 times, estimates Pastor Dietlind Jochims, commissioner for migration, asylum, and human rights for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany.
This growing demand 鈥� and church efforts to meet it 鈥� is riling conservative politicians who argue that immigrants are breaking down the 海角大神 foundational fabric of their countries and, in flouting immigration laws, potentially bringing crime and terror with them.聽
鈥淚slam doesn鈥檛 belong in Germany,鈥� the country鈥檚 Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said last year, even as statistics showed that violent crime nationwide had fallen 2.4%. Germany should create a 鈥渕aster plan,鈥� he said, to step up the search for and deportation of criminals among asylum-seekers in order to 鈥減rotect the country鈥檚 liberal values.鈥�
Even less hard-line immigration opponents in the government are wary of churches offering hundreds of people sanctuary. They argue church officials are putting themselves above the law of a democratic state and, in the words of one German state governor, subordinating it to an unelected moral authority.
Church officials push back against this characterization. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not about myself or any pastor or church being above the law of a democratic state,鈥� says Ms. Jochims. 鈥淩ather, I think a democratic state is exactly one that lets itself be questioned. We aren鈥檛 doing any more or any less than coming to the government and asking them to please take a second look 鈥� because we think there might be a violation of human rights here.鈥澛�
Are the churches right 鈥� are they taking a vital humanitarian stand 鈥� or are they going too far?
The tension between church and state has spurred congregations to take dramatic steps to shield migrants. In The Hague, Netherlands, Bethel church recently drew worldwide attention when it kept a service going nonstop for 96 days. It was taking advantage of a centuries-old law under which Dutch authorities can鈥檛 enter a church while a service is underway.
The sanctuary crusade started with three local pastors, but gradually drew nearly 1,000 ministers and 12,000 attendees from around the world. They supported the round-the-clock service to help protect the Tamrazyan family from being deported to Armenia where, the church argued, the politically active father faced violence. Ultimately, given all the attention, the government agreed to reconsider not only the family鈥檚 case, but hundreds of others. In late March, the Tamrazyans were granted a Dutch residency permit.
The congregation was pleased with the outcome but alarmed by the need for the marathon church service, which they feel highlighted an unsettling change in government policy. 鈥淭his was the first time in history that we had to organize a continuous church service,鈥� says Theo Hettema, chairman of the General Council of Protestant Ministers. 鈥淏efore, the police and the government just respected the church.鈥�
Mr. Hettema recalls taking part in an asylum case in the same church in 1998. Church officials were prepared to keep the service going. 鈥淲e had some hymn books, volunteers, and a Bible on hand, so we could just hurry and start [a service] if necessary,鈥� he recalls. 鈥淏ut it never was.鈥�
The Tamrazyan family had been living 12 miles north of The Hague, in the small town of Katwijk, where they had been members of a Protestant church for the previous three years. 鈥淲e knew them well, and what had happened to them in Armenia,鈥� says Pastor Folkert Rinkema. 鈥淭he family had been in the Netherlands for nine years, and we considered the children Dutch.鈥�
When the family learned of their failed immigration petition and impending deportation, they asked for sanctuary. After some deliberation, the church council granted it. But soon after, 鈥淭he authorities came to us and said, 鈥淲e will come into the church and take them out 鈥� that鈥檚 an order,鈥� Mr. Rinkema says.聽
It is well known, he says, that the police tend to arrive around 4 a.m., when a family is sleeping and the police know the family members will be there. So the church devised a plan to start a service during those early hours.
Mr. Rinkema also reached out to colleagues at Bethel. 鈥淲e are a little church 鈥� they could stay in only one room,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e have no shower, no kitchen.鈥�
At night, after peeking out the door to look for police cars, the family went to the homes of fellow church members, where they showered and ate.
In considering whether to take in the Tamrazyan family, members of the Bethel church council weighed many questions and looked to the Bible for guidance. One Scripture that inspired them says that when you receive a refugee, you receive Christ. 鈥淭his was very important for us,鈥� Mr. Hettema says.聽
But others pointed to a verse that says to obey the government. 鈥淲e argued, 鈥榃ell, by having church asylum, we do not protest against the government. Rather, church asylum is a means of reminding the government of its job. Its job is to make sure children aren鈥檛 hurt. We provide this church asylum to have a better government,鈥欌�� he says.
They also explored whether there was another way to handle the situation. 鈥淐an鈥檛 we just have a talk behind the scenes with the government? We decided no. We see government policies becoming intentionally harsher, increasingly influenced by populist parties, to send the message, 鈥業t鈥檚 dangerous here, it鈥檚 hard here,鈥欌�� Mr. Hettema says.聽
鈥淲e looked into each other鈥檚 eyes and said, 鈥極K, we can manage. Let鈥檚 call the family.鈥欌��
There have been 52 incidents of people being offered church asylum in the Netherlands in the past decade and, in this case, Bethel did not hide that it was providing sanctuary to the Tamrazyans. Church leaders even coordinated with local police to work through potential parking issues.
They also told the family that if federal authorities entered the church despite the ongoing service, the church would acquiesce. 鈥淲e did not want to fight the government, but to plead for a discussion, a dialogue, a means of cooperation,鈥� says Mr. Hettema.聽
Church leaders mobilized nearly 100 volunteers to welcome participants to the service, clean toilets, buy groceries, and manage media outreach 鈥� in a hedge, he admits, against possible state action. Mr. Hettema estimates that in the beginning about 60% of the congregation supported the move, a figure he says rose to roughly 80% during the course of the ongoing service.
After a few weeks, Bethel officials had a meeting with the Dutch Ministry of Justice. 鈥淭hey said, 鈥極K, we see that you have this church service. We will not enter the building; we won鈥檛 post a policeman outside.鈥� But they also said, 鈥榃e think it鈥檚 rather ridiculous what you are doing, and it will have no impact. We鈥檒l just wait until you can鈥檛 manage this anymore.鈥欌��
But word of the service spread. Thanks to frequent flyer miles donated by a parishioner, Columbus Mennonite Church in Ohio sent its pastor, Joel Miller, to The Hague to take part in the Bethel church service. 鈥淭here was a natural kindredness in the work in that it was asylum and sanctuary,鈥� he says. Mr. Miller鈥檚 own church has offered sanctuary for the past year and a half to a Mexican woman facing deportation from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
In Hamburg, Germany, Ms. Jochims was scheduled to travel to The Hague to lead a service at Bethel, too, but the family was granted a reprieve 鈥� allowing the service to end last January 鈥� before she arrived. She decided to go anyway to discuss the movement with Mr. Hettema.聽
鈥淗e was not one of these activists who does this all the time 鈥� the hold-up-your-fists-and-yell type,鈥� Ms. Jochims says. 鈥淲hen we asked him if they had any idea of the outcome of this service when they started, if they had a Plan B, he said, 鈥楬umanity has no Plan B.鈥� He was saying stuff like that. He was very impressive.鈥澛�
What Ms. Jochims found particularly encouraging was the ultimate change in the government鈥檚 position. 鈥淚t took more than three months but they kept on talking, talking, talking and that led to a solution. The encouraging thing was that there was a willingness to remain in dialogue.鈥澛�
In Germany, by contrast, 鈥淲hat frustrates us right now is that there has been a shift in atmosphere,鈥� she adds. 鈥淭hey write us long bureaucratic emails, but there鈥檚 no real dialogue anymore, no willingness to find good solutions to the cases we bring to them. So that was a good thing to see 鈥� you keep on, you keep on, you keep on.鈥澛�
For their part, Taara and Zemar expect to be in sanctuary for roughly a year and a half. Until recently, German law required cases under the Dublin Regulation, the main framework governing asylum applications in Europe, to be settled within six months. If it took longer than that, people could not be deported. Churches, aware of the backlog of asylum cases in German courts, took advantage of this law to help run out the clocks, so to speak, for those seeking sanctuary.聽
Aware of this tactic, German lawmakers voted last August to raise the length of time for Dublin cases to be resolved to 18 months. As a result, the time families spend living in churches has been steadily rising.
The state is moving toward toughening immigration laws in other ways as well. In April, as part of his so-called master plan, Interior Minister Seehofer gained Cabinet backing for an 鈥渙rderly return bill.鈥� It would hold asylum-seekers awaiting deportation in jails, reduce social welfare grants for asylum-seekers, and potentially prosecute civil servants who warn asylum-seekers of pending deportations.聽
Already, authorities have questioned more than 150 church pastors in conservative German states, including Bavaria, and threatened some with jail time. 鈥淭he police came to me and asked, 鈥榃ho is living here? When did they arrive, and when are they leaving?鈥� says Doris Otminghaus, a protestant pastor in Bavaria, whom colleagues describe as 鈥渞inging the church bells against the state.鈥澛�
鈥淭hey told me, 鈥楾his first time we come you will not be punished, but if you do it again, you will go to prison,鈥欌�� she says, adding that she does not plan to stop.
Churches aren鈥檛 the only target of hardening policies. Until recently, health care facilities were considered unofficial safe zones, but when Taara went to a local hospital last year to deliver her baby, she learned this was no longer the case.聽
鈥淭hey asked me for documents and when I said, 鈥業 don鈥檛 have any,鈥� the nurse said, 鈥楳aybe we have to call the police.鈥� It was stressful.鈥�
鈥淏efore, I could always tell people, 鈥楾he hospital is safe,鈥欌�� says Hannah Hosseini, head of the department of migration and asylum for the Evangelical Lutheran Church of East Hamburg. She pauses. 鈥淚 used to be able to say with confidence, 鈥榊ou are safe now. The church will protect you.鈥� I can鈥檛 say that with confidence anymore.鈥澛�
Church officials, politicians, and refugees are looking toward European parliamentary elections in May to see if there will be any further shift in immigration policies. If anti-immigrant parties gain enough votes, they could block efforts to reform what critics consider the 鈥渉uge structural failures鈥� in the Dublin framework. Among other things, it requires immigrants to request asylum in the first European Union country in which they arrive.聽
This places an unfair burden, critics say, on southern countries such as Greece and Italy now grappling with packed refugee camps and migrants living on the streets. Bulgaria and Hungary have been criticized for encouraging immigrants to move along north, under threat of imprisonment, rather than registering them for asylum.聽
鈥淒ublin can only work well if the reception conditions and asylum procedures are the same, plus or minus, wherever you are,鈥� says Torsten Moritz, director of the Churches鈥� Commission for Migrants in Europe. 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 the case.鈥�
Should Taara, Zemar, or their housemates be detained by police, they could be sent back to Sweden, the first country where they registered with authorities. From there, they could be deported to Afghanistan, still embroiled in war. European countries have different deportation policies. While Germany won鈥檛 deport women and children to Afghanistan, for example, other European countries will.
鈥淧eople coming into the EU are making an educated and, I think, well-informed decision in searching for a place with some infrastructure and some means of receiving them,鈥� says Dr. Moritz.聽
The influx of asylum-seekers in Germany has prompted some church officials to change their own policies. Ms. Hosseini says that the church used to weigh the relative merits of each case to determine who got the scarce sanctuary spots.聽
鈥淚 remember, there were five or six men coming via Bulgaria,鈥� where treatment of asylum-seekers has been questioned by EU officials concerned about human rights violations. 鈥淥ne was saying, 鈥業 was jailed for four weeks,鈥� another said he was jailed for six weeks, another said he was beaten,鈥� she says.
Now, the church takes a less emotionally exhausting first-come, first-served approach. 鈥淚f we have a free place, the next person who comes gets it. We don鈥檛 want to 鈥� and can鈥檛 鈥� decide who is more deserving.鈥�
The 20-somethings sitting around the coffee table being protected here feel particularly fortunate.聽
鈥淚 can imagine telling these stories to our grandchildren when we鈥檙e older,鈥� Zemar says. 鈥淭hey won鈥檛 believe it. Sometimes we ourselves don鈥檛 believe it.鈥� They watch television news clips of refugees on boats and in camps. 鈥淲e think, 鈥楬ow dangerous. How stressful!鈥� Then we think, 鈥榃ait, we did this, too. And now we鈥檙e here. Thank God.鈥欌��
