A Portland church that made headlines for offering a sanctuary more than a decade ago has proclaimed it will continue to be a safe haven for immigrants seeking shelter, even as the federal government cracks down on illegal immigration.

Francisco Aguirre still remembers when agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement came to his Fairview, Oregon, home in 2014.

He had illegally re-entered the United States in 2000 and faced potential deportation to his native country of El Salvador, which he called “a death sentence.” His parents and son were killed there.

“It was a terrible moment that I did not expect, since I already had an immigration process going on,” Aguirre said. “It brought me back to those moments of conflict in El Salvador — I felt like they were there to kill me.”

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But ICE officials lacked a search warrant. Community activists took Aguirre to Augustana Lutheran Church in Northeast Portland, which gave him refuge. He spent his first few nights sleeping under the altar. Church leaders had to get him a portable shower so he could bathe.

“Living for 81 days in the church, it’s not easy,” Aguirre said. “You can’t sleep. You always think that anytime they can break in and take you.”

He spent his days avoiding going outside for fear he’d be arrested. Eventually, the Department of Justice dropped charges of illegal entry against Aguirre in 2016.

Had he entered Augustana Lutheran under similar circumstances now, he may not have been able to remain there for so long.

President Donald Trump recently lifted the ban on immigration agents entering churches. With just a search warrant, ICE can now enter churches, and other traditionally protected spaces, to carry out deportations.

Under previous presidential administrations, such places as churches, schools and hospitals have been considered off-limits to immigration officials, because they provide essential services.

The Associated Press estimated in 2018 there were at least 70 cases similar to Aguirre’s nationwide, in which churches had provided sanctuary to undocumented immigrants.

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For nearly three decades, Augustana Lutheran has offered sanctuary. Rev. W.J. Mark Knutson said it’s a key tenet of the church’s philosophy of social justice.

“We’re not going to let anybody come in here,” Knutson said. “If you’re afraid of being deported by ICE, you can come here and we will protect you until things get worked out.

The White House directive has spurred a nationwide response by churches and other houses of worship. Knutson said he’s getting calls from clergy in multiple states, all wanting to establish sanctuary services in their communities.

That togetherness was on full display on Jan. 26, when Augustana held a service to rally around the cause of sanctuary services. The church usually has a service to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, but Knutson said they pushed it back a week to respond to Trump’s first actions on immigration.

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Hundreds of people packed the pews, singing protest songs and listening to faith leaders preach the importance of empathy toward those who are undocumented.

“If we stop what is taking place now in the immigrant community, we can stand between the future movements that have already begun against others,” Knutson told the audience.

The crowd then exited the church with lit candles, singing the Civil Rights Movement anthem “We Shall Overcome,” with clergy from across the Portland metro area standing together.

Frank So, executive director of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, said it’s an uncertain time for churches and it’s unclear what the full effect of Trump’s policies will be.

“Churches need to know what their rights are, and the more awareness that we are able to give, the more education that we’re able to give churches, the more powerful we can be as faith organizations,” So said.

Few feel that uncertainty quite like Francisco Aguirre. In the decade since first entering Augustana, he has continued to be involved. He leads Spanish-language services every Sunday, mere feet from where he once slept in hiding. He grew up wanting to become a priest, so it’s the realization of a lifelong dream.

Yet, the fear remains and has even intensified in the days since Trump regained control of the White House. Aguirre is still undocumented and fears for himself, his wife and two daughters.

“When I immigrated to this country in 1995,” he said, “I thought that all that suffering was over, that it was a moment where I can find peace.

“But I’m still looking for that moment.”

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/02/01/augustana-lutheran-church-sanctuary-immigrants/