Sanctuary Movement - Broader Issues

Broader Issues

Sanctuary represents an interesting concept oft discussed in sociology, political science and history: the tension between transnational and nation-state bounded conceptions of rights and citizenship. Sanctuary members viewed themselves as part of a transnational community with universal rights and responsibilities existing outside national boundaries. The United States government, however, viewed Sanctuary members as citizens of the nation who were acting politically and in defiance of federal laws. They rejected movement members' claims to international law's applicability inside U.S. courtrooms, as well as arguments that they were acting out of solely religious motivation.

Sanctuary also points to the effects of foreign policy on asylum policy within the United States. The Reagan administration's stance on Central American refugees reflected the government's broader goals within the region, which in itself reflected a Cold War strategy of containment and counterinsurgency. Therefore, asylum applications during the Cold War were not necessarily cases viewed within a vacuum and on an individual basis but opportunities to deny controversial activities of right-wing governments that the U.S. was supporting and grant status to citizens fleeing communist or Soviet-backed regimes.