Is our country criminalizing mercy? A conversation with 2025 Shurden Lecturer Sergio M. González

Focusing on sanctuary in an era of government repression of migrant justice, Dr. Sergio M. González will deliver BJC’s annual Walter B. and Kay W. Shurden Lectures on Religious Liberty and Separation of Church and State. The 2025 series will be Oct. 21-23 in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minn., held in partnership with the University of St. Thomas. Visit BJConline.org/ShurdenLectures for details, including how you can join us for one or all three of the events.

A historian of U.S. immigration, labor and religion, Dr. González teaches at Marquette University and is a co-founder and former organizer for the Dane Sanctuary Coalition. He spoke with Report from the Capital to preview some of his topics.

You’ve spent years studying the sanctuary movement. When you look at what’s happening now — mass deportations, renewed attention on sanctuary spaces, people being sent to third countries — what connections do you see to the past?
The current immigration landscape echoes many concerns that sanctuary movements, both in the 1980s and across the 21st century, have confronted.

In the original movement of the 1980s, Christian and Jewish faith communities provided safe harbor to Central American asylum seekers fleeing U.S.-backed violence, as the federal government failed to grant them refuge as mandated by national and international laws. In the 2010s, meanwhile, houses of worship revived the concept of faith-based sanctuary to provide shelter to undocumented residents, many of whom had called this country their home for years.

Today, we see similar dynamics — mass and what feel like indiscriminate detention and deportations, often targeting the most vulnerable, as well as the outsourcing of asylum responsibilities to third countries. This reflects a continued attempt to externalize borders and criminalize migration, all of which is built upon over a century of U.S. military and economic intervention abroad and resurgent nativism at home. What’s different now is the scope and visibility of these attacks on undocumented residents as well as asylum seekers and refugees; deportations today affect a broader range of nationalities, and technology has amplified federal surveillance while making the threats and arrests against migrants ever more present on social media.

Across each of these eras however, grassroots responses have emerged in defiance, with sanctuary spaces once again today becoming vital sites of resistance and protection. The movement’s moral framework — emphasizing human dignity and solidarity — remains as relevant as ever. The enduring struggle, what sanctuary activists have continually referred to as a form of “sacred resistance,” highlights how sanctuary is not just a place but a political and ethical stance against unjust state policies.

What do you think today’s faith communities can learn from earlier sanctuary movements, especially when it comes to legal risks and public witness?
Today’s faith communities can draw valuable lessons from earlier sanctuary mobilizations about the power of moral conviction and collective action, even when facing down potential government persecution. Historically, sanctuary has not just been about providing shelter — those who have practiced sanctuary have understood it as a physical manifestation of their faith, a bold public witness that challenges unjust laws and policies. Faith communities have learned to navigate legal risks by building local, regional, national and even transnational networks with lawyers, advocacy groups and other congregations, emphasizing solidarity and shared responsibility. Today, those lessons are crucial. Faith communities must educate themselves on immigration law, understand the potential legal consequences for providing safe harbor to those fearing detention and deportation, and work closely with legal experts to protect both themselves and those they support. And in light of the enhanced legal risks that faith-based immigration activists are facing, equally important is reclaiming sanctuary as a prophetic act — one that centers the humanity and dignity of immigrants while pushing back against fear-driven narratives. By standing publicly with immigrant communities, faith groups can shift public discourse, hold institutions like the federal government accountable, and affirm that offering refuge is a sacred moral tradition, not a criminal act.

“Sanctuary” is such a loaded word. How has its mix of political and spiritual definitions impacted the work of people of faith?
The term “sanctuary” carries both spiritual and political weight, which has both empowered and complicated the work of faith communities invested in immigrant justice.

Spiritually, “sanctuary” evokes the concept of hospitality and a sacred duty to protect the vulnerable, the disenfranchised and those who have been pushed to the margins of society. Because this is a deep-rooted tradition across many religions, the potential for interfaith and ecumenical solidarity is ripe. This moral clarity can galvanize congregations of many faiths, offering a powerful framework for action rooted in compassion and justice.

Like any effective social movement, however, “sanctuary” has engendered a powerful political countermovement, one which I would argue today defines restrictive immigration politics in our nation. Politicians and pundits regularly deploy “anti-sanctuary” arguments in government and across the media, arguing that providing sanctuary — practiced in both sacred and secular spaces — promotes criminality and a disregard for the law. Crackdowns on sanctuary efforts, either by threating to send immigration officers into churches or by defunding “sanctuary cities,” can create confusion or fear within faith communities about legal consequences or public backlash. Historically, however, faith communities have not been deterred by these threats, arguing their obligation is ultimately to a higher power. By framing sanctuary as a spiritual commitment, faith leaders can offer a counternarrative surrounding immigration, one that emphasizes human dignity over demonization and fear.

Join us for the Walter B. and Kay W. Shurden Lectures on Religious Liberty and Separation of Church and State:
Criminalizing Mercy: Sanctuary and Government Repression of Migrant Justice
with Dr. Sergio M. González

Oct. 21-23 in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota, in partnership with the University of St. Thomas

This article first appeared in the Summer/Fall edition of Report from the Capital. The full magazine will be online soon.