Sanctuary Focus

3121 Groveland School Road, Minnetonka, MN

View artworkby Marilyn Summers Cool in commemoration of 25 years of Sanctuary.

During the early months of 1982, St. Luke members began to learn about the wars in Central America and the dangers for the people fleeing the fighting in El Salvador and Guatemala.  We learned that according to international law and the treaties of the United States, our country was required to treat such persecuted people as refugees.  But we also learned that instead of giving the refugees political asylum, our country was sending them back, many to their deaths.  So when the opportunity arose to correct this injustice, the session said yes by voting to declare St. Luke a sanctuary for refugees from El Salvador and Guatemala.  Little did we know that it would be the start of a decades-long journey.

The afternoon of December 12, 1982, ecumenical supporters from around the area joined us in worship as St. Luke became one of the first ten sanctuary churches in the country.  As part of that declaration, we welcomed into our family a young man who, in order to protect his family from retribution in El Salvador, called himself René Hurtado.  Small in build, dark-haired, wearing a bandana across his face to hide his identity, this twenty-four-year old man was escorted down the ramp into the sanctuary.  We declared our faithfulness to the biblical call to welcome the stranger, and we said no to the illegal actions of our own government.

A report of everything that has happened in the years since that day could fill a book, but the last chapter is still unknown, and our role as a sanctuary church has not ended.  Some circumstances have changed of course.  René Hurtado, we now know, is Gonzalo de Jesus Larin-Lara, best known to us as René Larin.  The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) has changed its name to Immigration Control and Enforcement (ICE) under the new Department of Homeland Security.  Our country has become more fearful of the stranger.  The hot wars in Central America have returned to a form of low-intensity conflict, but the pro-American wealthy retain control.  Some of the leaders of the death squads in El Salvador have been prosecuted, but others live well in Florida.  The Center for Constitutional Rights won the lawsuit it filed, which St. Luke joined, on behalf of sanctuary churches around the country.  What has not changed is our government’s effort to deport René.

René first applied for political asylum in 1982, which means his case may be approaching a record length.  He has been through many hearings, an arrest, detention, a trial in which the judge ruled in his favor, and an appeal by the government which René also won.  However, Richard Soli, the local ICE attorney, petitioned to have the case reopened.  A new trial was held June 27 and 28, 2005, in Minneapolis with Judge Robert Vinikoor (from Chicago) presiding.  The courtroom was filled with Rene’s supporters to show the judge that René still has our support.  Besides many St. Luke members, there were numerous friends and many long-time peace activists present.  Several St. Luke members - Nancy Berneking, Dick Lundy, and Gwen Bottoli - were called to testify.  The judge eventually ruled in Rene’s favor.  He said that the new evidence introduced by the immigration service was full of holes and did not hold up when put against Rene’s credibility.  This was another important victory to add to the long string of successful verdicts.  Unfortunately Mr. Soli chose to appeal the ruling (and not work on other cases), so once again Rene’s fate hangs by a thread, and he remains in legal limbo.  It is unknown at this point if Mr. Soli plans to appeal all the way to the Supreme Court.  It he does, there will be a need for funding the legal defense fund.  Rene’s lawyers have filed a motion for summary dismissal of the appeal, meaning they are asking the Board of Immigration Appeals to throw out the appeal because it is “so lacking in merit and without rational connection to the decision at issue” that the board that the board should be “expeditiously disposing of those matters that have no merit and do not belong on their calendar.”  If that does not happen, then a full transcript of the trial must be made, and that can take several months.  After that, the lawyers file full legal briefs and wait until the case comes up on the board’s calendar.

René is known as A90 345 044 to ICE (an appropriate acronym to be sure).  However, we know him as member of our congregation, deacon, husband, father, courageous spokesperson for justice, and friend.  We will stand by René and his family as they continue their journey, and we urge continuing care of them as they face 2007.

We are all very saddened by Nancy Berneking’s death in July.  She headed the Sanctuary Focus Group from its inception until her death.  Nancy was a courageous leader and tireless advocate for Rene and his family.  She devoted hundreds of hours to his cause and never stopped working for justice.  Her wit, strong sense of duty, and brilliant intellect were critical all these years.  After she received the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, one of her wishes was that Rene’s case would be resolved in his favor before her death.  It was not to be, but her spirit is still leading us all and urging us not to give up.  We owe her a deep sense of thanks and gratitude for all she did.  Nancy will be missed greatly.

P. S.

There has been wonderful news since this report was written.  René is finally out of legal limbo.  On January 5, 2007, the Department of Homeland Security withdrew its appeal and the positive decision rendered by Judge Vinikoor on February 16, 2006, will stand.  This essentially means that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Department has ended their efforts to deport René.  There will be a celebration party at St. Luke this spring to honor René and his long struggle for justice.

Meanwhile we should be mindful and remember the important issue that René has held before us, our country’s participation in torture.

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