Tucson's Sanctuary Movement: A Living History of Its Founders and Their Work on the U.S.-Mexico Border Today

Abstract

The Sanctuary Movement started in Tucson in the 1980s after a group of Tucsonans saw a situation they could not ignore. People from Central America were illegally entering the United States after fleeing violence in their countries only to die in the Sonoran Desert or be arrested by immigration officials. U.S. refugee policy was failing them, movement organizers said. The country’s hand in backing military dictatorships in Guatemala and El Salvador made it nearly impossible for people to receive asylum. The faith and activist communities united to bond people out of jail and provide them with social services while starting an underground railroad to cross refugees into the United States and transport them across the country. Policies changed by the end of the movement, after 12 participants were charged in a federal trial and sites throughout the nation declared themselves as sanctuaries. The movement strengthened a culture of border activism in Tucson and led to the formation of several humanitarian organizations operating today. This journalism professional project traces the history of the movement and follows its founders through their current work on the U.S.‐Mexico border.