Bishop John Harvey Taylor with a pastor of the United Methodist Church at the rally in support of the sanctuary city ordinance
Los Angeles City Council members voted Tuesday to adopt a “Sanctuary City” ordinance, which would prevent city resources and personnel from being used to help federal immigration enforcement. At a demonstration and press conference in favor of the ordinance, organized by the local Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Bishop John Harvey Taylor and other faith leaders showed their support for the ordinance from a religious perspective.
Troy Elder, executive director of Interfaith Refugee and Immigration Services, a program of the Los Angeles diocese and an Episcopal Migration Ministries affiliate, and other IRIS team members also attended the event to stand up for the protection of immigrants in Los Angeles. Further representing the faith perspective were Father John Watson, priest-in-charge of St. Athanasius Church, Kathey Cooper-Ledesma, a United Methodist pastor, and Mary Ann Swenson, a bishop from the United Methodist Church, and a parishioner from All Saints, Pasadena. The event, and the recent push to quickly get the ordinance up for a vote, follow president-elect Trump’s promises of mass deportations.
Father John Watson, priest-in-charge of St. Athanasius Episcopal Church, Else Duff, development coordinator at IRIS, and Troy Elder, executive director of IRIS, and United Methodist Bishop Mary Ann McDonald Swenson at the rally.
“If national politicians really wanted to fix the immigration and asylum system, they would. But they don’t,” Bishop Taylor said in remarks prepared for the event . “They want to play politics at human beings’ expense. They are willing to hurt our neighbors, colleagues, and friends and their children so they can get and keep power.”
The large crowd gathered outside of city hall heard from speakers representing SEIU, CHIRLA (Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles), CARECEN (Central American Resource Center), and the California Immigration Policy Center, before lining up to enter the City Council chambers for public comment.
An All Saints Pasadena parishioner with a “Sanctuary city now” poster
“We can rise together, or we can fall together,” Angelica Salas, CHIRLA executive director, told the crowd.
Later that day, the ordinance was unanimously passed by the City Council.
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