Operation Sojourner: The Government Infiltration of the Sanctuary Movement in the 1980s and Its Legacy on the Modern Central American Refugee Crisis
35 Pages Posted: 14 Feb 2018
Date Written: November 30, 2017
Abstract
This Article will discuss “Operation Sojourner,” the federal government’s covert infiltration, and subsequent criminal prosecution, of persons involved in the Sanctuary Movement in the 1980s, as well as its impact on the modern Sanctuary Movement in Arizona and the Southwest occurring in response to the current Central American refugee crisis. Part I will provide an overview of the Sanctuary Movement in the 1980s, and the general religious beliefs and philosophies of those involved in the movement. Part II will discuss the genesis of Operation Sojourner by the former Immigration and Nationality Service (INS) in the early 1980s, and the criminal prosecutions of members of the Sanctuary Movement in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. Part III will discuss one of the most high-profile cases that resulted from Operation Sojourner, United States v. Maria del Socorro Pardo de Aguilar, et al., and United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s decision upholding the defendants’ convictions for conspiracy and harboring and transporting aliens. Part IV will discuss the current Central American refugee crisis and the litigation that has been filed on their behalf challenging the Obama Administration’s current policy of detaining families seeking asylum on the U.S.-Mexico border. Finally, the Article will conclude with Part V, which makes an argument about the need for a revitalized Sanctuary Movement in churches, homes, and schools in response to the government’s overzealous enforcement of immigration law now and in the new administration of President Donald Trump.
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