Churches offer sanctuary to immigrants as Donald Trump's presidency looms

Some 450 houses of worship have vowed to offer sanctuary to immigrants who are fearing deportation when President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.

The Washington Post reported that the Department of Homeland Security is already preparing for raids targeting families that crossed over to the U.S. since the start of last year. The operation could be carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customer Enforcement (ICE) agents as early as January, according to sources close to the operation.

The houses of worship are part of the Sanctuary Movement, an interfaith community that was launched with the aim of protecting immigrants from deportation.

According to Raw Story, the movement was started in the 1960s but went through a revival in recent years when the U.S. expanded its operation to deport undocumented immigrants. It has gained even more momentum after the elections when Trump promised to deport as many as three million immigrants with criminal records.

During the 1980s, churches functioned as some kind of an "underground railroad," harboring refugees from South and Central American wars and transporting them to safe areas.

Churches are among the places listed as "sensitive locations" where immigration officers are ordered not to make arrests unless they receive explicit permission from an ICE supervisor.

Rev. Alison Harrington of Southside Presbyterian Church in Tucson, Arizona, who is also a part of the movement, told a group of volunteers that it is uncertain whether churches will remain inviolable under the Trump administration.

"We can't assume that churches and houses of worship will remain safe locations," she said.

More than 4,000 signatures have been collected by the movement to challenge Trump's stance on undocumented immigrants.

"We find ourselves entering a new phase of U.S. history wherein the politics of fear has stoked an atmosphere of racism and xenophobia across the country. The new Administration has pledged to criminalize, detain and deport undocumented people at new levels that will tear families and communities apart," the petition stated, according to The Christian Post.

"As people of faith and people of conscience, we will take civil initiative out of our moral obligation to embody principles of human rights and dignity, and resist any harmful and unjust policy proposals that further undermine due process and lead to racial profiling and discrimination," it continued.