Presbyterian Church Offers Attic as Sanctuary for Undocumented Immigrants
A Presbyterian church in Chicago is offering its attic to undocumented immigrants, and will serve as a sanctuary to help protect them, news reports say.
The Lincoln Park Presbyterian Church, located at 600 W. Fullerton Parkway, is working on turning its attic into a two-bedroom apartment that will temporarily house undocumented immigrants avoiding deportation, DNA Info reported.
"We don't know when or if that will happen, but we need to be ready in any case," Rev. Beth Brown, the church pastor, told the news outlet.
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Lincoln Park Presbyterian is one of dozens of Chicago churches joining the sanctuary movement, the Portland Press Herald reported. Rev. Brown said the church merely responded to what it considers to be an alarming crack down on immigrants staying illegally in the United States.
"When Trump was elected, it turned into an immediate priority situation," Rev. Brown told the Portland Press Herald in February.
Rev. Brown says that after President Trump won the election, the church began to seriously talk about the deportation of immigrants and being a sanctuary church that attempts to protect them. She said the church had to answer many "questions about risk and finances," and finally decided to stick to its mission of reaching out to those who they believe are marginalized.
"It's part of who this church has always been," Rev. Brown said, as per DNAInfo.
Now, Lincoln Park Presbyterian is almost finished turning its former stockroom into an apartment complete with two rooms, a living room, and showers. Rev. Brown told WBEZ that she doesn't know how many will stay there and for how long, but she says the church is willing to let people take refuge inside it while seeking legal status in the U.S.
Although the decision to become a sanctuary church might be quite risky, Rev. Brown says they will be willing to try to keep undocumented immigrants seeking refuge safe.
"Can we keep somebody completely safe? Maybe, maybe not. We don't know that," Brown told WBEZ. "Will we do everything in our power to try? Absolutely."
