The memories of gunfire and death squads were never far from their minds. The unforgiving desert heat, however, was their primary concern. Who could Central American asylum seekers turn to when they arrived at the US-Mexico border, seeking refuge but finding none from the American government? In episode 2, Barba and González uncover the roots of the 1980s Movement. They begin with the pre-history of the Sanctuary Movement in Tucson, examining how legal aid workers and religious organizations responded to a rise of Latin American migrants who hailed from countries beyond Mexico arriving at the border. These migrants faced a harrowing journey through the desert, only one more step in a perilous journey that had begun in El Salvador and Guatemala. The hosts then turn to Central America, analyzing how clergy and laity inspired by the teachings of Liberation Theology sought to respond to widespread violence in the region. As more Central Americans crossed the treacherous desert, arriving in southern Arizona, Tucson-based activists made public the work they had already been doing clandestinely: offering sanctuary to those in need.

Transcripts and Course Packs for Educators: https://linktr.ee/irmceorg

Additional Resources:

UTV Studios, Boderlands (2023) (Dora Rodriguez’s Story)
AJ+, I Survived Five Days In One Of The U.S.'s Deadliest Deserts (2023) (Dora Rodriguez’s Story)
PCUSA Digital History Sanctuary: A Question of Conscience (1985)
The New York Times, Killed in El Salvador: An American Story | Retro Report | (2014)

Creators

Dr. Lloyd Daniel Barba is an Assistant Professor of Religion and Core Faculty in Latinx and Latin American Studies at Amherst College. He is the author of the award-winning book Sowing the Sacred: Mexican Pentecostal Farmworkers in California (Oxford University Press) and editor of Latin American and US Latino Religions in North America (Bloomsbury). His current research on the Sanctuary Movement includes A Refuge of Resistance: A History of the US Sanctuary Movement (under contract with Oxford University Press) and a volume edited with co-host Sergio González, Sacred Refuge: New Histories of the Sanctuary Movement (under contract with New York University Press).

Dr. Sergio M. González is Assistant Professor of History at Marquette University. He is the author of Strangers No Longer: Latino Belonging and Faith in Twentieth-Century Wisconsin (University of Illinois Press) and Mexicans in Wisconsin (Wisconsin Historical Society Press) and the co-editor of Faith and Power: Latino Religious Politics Since 1945 (New York University Press) with Felipe Hinojosa and Maggie Elmore. He is a co-founder and former organizer for the Dane Sanctuary Coalition and is currently completing a co-edited volume with co-host Lloyd Barba, Sacred Refuge: New Histories of the US Sanctuary Movement (under contract with New York University Press).

Funding for this series has been generously provided by the Henry Luce Foundation. Additional support was provided by the American Academy of Religion and Amherst College.

Executive Producer: Dr. Bradley Onishi (@bradleyonishi)

Audio Engineer: Scott Okamoto (@rsokamoto)

Production Assistance: Kari Onishi