Sanctuary Advocates Are Only Telling Part of the Story
November 17, 2016 By Matt O'Brien 18 Comments
half-painted-board-rotator-720x480Recently, Seattle, Philadelphia and Chicago announced that, despite President-elect Trump’s plans to enforce the Immigration and Nationality Act, they will remain “sanctuary cities.” A sanctuary city is a municipality that, by law or policy, prohibits local officials from cooperating with immigration authorities. In other words, it’s a case of American cities blatantly violating federal statutes against harboring illegal aliens.
Proponents of these modern havens claim that they simply wish to mirror the Medieval, English practice of granting sanctuary in churches. But, as with most historical arguments in favor of questionable policies, this one omits a key part of the story.
Medieval sanctuary was much more limited than the policies currently pursued by American cities. It was never intended to provide permanent protection from the enforcement of duly enacted laws. Rather, it was a privilege accorded to the Church in order to maintain the separation between religious and civil law. Its primary aim was giving criminals the opportunity to confess their sins and repent.
http://immigrationreform.com/2016/11/17/sanctuary-advocates-are-only-telling-part-of-the-story/
