War Brought
Us Here

As we face one of the most openly anti-immigrant presidential administrations in U.S. history, the campaign for sanctuary cities becomes more important each day. We hope to create a merging of movements into one that links the need for sanctuary with the need to end the wars and militarism that drive people out of their homes and to become refugees in the first place.

We offer this toolkit as a first step in understanding the implications of U.S. wars and militarism abroad and underscore the role of state violence in creating insecure communities in countries around the world. Our challenge now, is to strengthen our movement and expand our conversations on protecting refugees and immigrants as well as other vulnerable communities, in a manner that will:

1. Support sanctuary cities/states in their efforts to protect undocumented people, asylum seekers, and refugees by helping provide materials for education and mobilization based on the direct connection that US foreign policy played in their displacement.

2. Help sanctuary communities and institutions to mainstream an analysis of the role that U.S. wars play in dispossessing people from their homes.

3. Support existing sanctuary campaigns and work to broaden sanctuary beyond the traditional protection of immigrants and refugees from ICE and other deportation agents, to include protections of other communities victimized by repression and state violence.

4. Underscore the need to challenge prejudice towards immigrants and refugees rooted in racism, anti-Black racism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia.

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In the spirit of internationalism and the belief that change starts closest to home, it is our hope that this toolkit will encourage examination of U.S. wars, militarism, and intervention which can be discussed by all our communities and raised as relevant demands at every level of government. Ultimately, we hope that communities will unite to stand against war and to protect the most vulnerable communities — especially those who have fled their home countries as a direct result of U.S. foreign policy and in the context of on-going parallel threats to the safety and security of Indigenous and Black American communities.

To this end, this toolkit includes several resources, including:

• Articles and discussion questions on migration and how it happens
• Articles on how U.S. militarism domestically and abroad causes migration and displacement
• Film suggestions related to refugees and immigrants, with discussion questions
• Guide to getting a sanctuary resolution passed in your city, plus sample resolution language that includes an anti-war lens
• Outreach language including sample op-eds and press releases
• List of other relevant resources and organizations

Learning from History

Today’s sanctuary movement has roots in the struggles of the 1980s to turn churches and other places into safe spaces for refugees from Central America as the U.S. funded right-wing governments and paramilitary forces that made life in that region a violent nightmare for many.

More recently, in the lead up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, activists across the country worked at the local level to get cities and towns to join protesters in taking a stand against the invasion with an initiative called Cities for Peace, launched by the Institute for Policy Studies in 2002.

The campaign called attention to the inevitable human costs of the war–both in the losses and harm to Iraqi lives and those of U.S. soldiers, as well as the economic impact on U.S. communities that would come from increased military spending.

Cities for Peace allowed for local dissent against federal policies. It also allowed activists to talk with people about the connections between the U.S.’ activities abroad and what happens in our cities and towns here.

Today, it is crucial that activists in the U.S. stand up to the domestic anti-immigrant racism fueled by the president. But if the conversation stops at how the government treats migrants who make it to the U.S–and does not explore what leads so many people to migrate in the first place–then it is incomplete. An honest discussion of migration today must examine what the U.S. does around the world–economically, politically, and with its military–that contributes to situations where so many people leave or flee their home countries.

Teaching with articles and films

The articles below provide a broad overview of U.S. wars, militarism, and intervention that we hope will help to provide more context for those who want to include this analysis in their work. We believe that this analysis can be powerful to shifting the narrative around migration to the United States, and thus significantly strengthen the sanctuary and refugee rights movements.

Films can also be a powerful way of facilitating conversations around controversial issues. They bring out the human dimension of migration and displacement in ways that can engage diverse audiences. The films suggested below are those which speak to war and its impacts, including forced migration. It is our hope that these films will help provide an additional platform through which to engage in conversation about how wars, militarism, and other interventions come at the greatest cost to those who must flee in order to preserve their lives.

passing a resolution in your city

This next section is designed to help walk you through the process of getting a resolution passed and is completely adaptable for those who are at a more advanced stage in their local sanctuary work. Use them with the articles, films, and questions above to help add language to your resolution.

Determine a clear goal/goals for the resolution and/or ordinance that you want implemented/updated, what you want included, prioritization of various issues, and what language makes the most sense for your jurisdiction.

Do some research on your local city council. Determine if a sanctuary city resolution exists, whether or not it has been implemented, and what might be missing if so. If a resolution doesn’t exist in this explicit form, especially if city officials sometimes refer to their city as a sanctuary city, do some research to explore if aspects related to sanctuary have been included in other resolutions.

On the basis of your research, determine what you should propose. Is it additional or tweaked language to an existing sanctuary resolution? Is it a resolution in its entirety? Figure out what makes the most sense based on where your city sits with sanctuary.

Find out how Council members have voted on related issues in the past and think about who might be receptive to being approached about this resolution. Try getting as much intel as you can about the council member, including their working relationships with other council members, and any other relevant external relationships.

There may be overlap here when considering what relationships councilmembers have outside of city council, but try to think as broadly as possible about who is creating the problem (not just the obvious actors, i.e. federal immigration authorities). Then you can identify others who have a stake in the issue including those facing other problems with those same agencies. This is also a good time to identify potential allies that have power to shift the problem but have yet to leverage their power or who simply need more incentive, including city officials, editorial boards of local papers, and more. A great resource from Tactical Technology suggests that you map out in clear terms, the following categories of stakeholders:

Active allies: Includes those who would benefit from and participate in your strategy around sanctuary.

Allies: Includes interested parties, but who may not yet be activated.

Neutral parties: Includes those who don’t feel impacted by the issue one way or another.

Opponents: Includes those who stand to lose from sanctuary policies, but who might not be at the stage of active intervention.

Active opponents: Includes those who will proactively intervene in any attempts made by your group.

This first step is designed to help you take stock of who in your community might be interested
in working on getting some sort of statement from local officials regarding sanctuary. From
those who attend, you will also develop a good sense of what perspectives are in the room, what
connections those who attend might have, and how to best move forward on strategizing to pass
a resolution. You might consider making a list of organizations and individuals or use the basic
table below to document who you think would be interested in tackling this issue.

Make a Meeting Agenda
Think about what you will need to address in your first meeting. You might consider doing an
overview of the numbers of and challenges facing refugees and immigrants in your city, where
your city stands with sanctuary policies, getting community perspectives on sanctuary, deciding
on tactics that can be used both to further conversations and also figuring out how to begin the
process for advocating/reinforcing sanctuary in your community.

Take stock of who is in the room (and who’s not)
Use this step to map out the relationships and networks that those in the room have and that can
be leveraged. Also, if there are impacted communities present, make sure to center their voices
and listen to their perspectives on sanctuary and what will ultimately make the community feel
safe to them. Establishing relationships will also be a key step here as building power is critical
to your ability to pressure local officials to act. You should also take note of who isn’t in the
room, but needs to be and solicit feedback from the attendees for ideas about reaching those
folks.

Make a Plan
The first important decision here is to decide on a clear goal and a timeline. If for example, your
city already has a resolution but you want it to be stronger, think about what that would look like.
Or maybe your group collectively decides that you want to push for an ordinance so that
sanctuary policy is beyond symbolism. Once you decide on a specific goal, think about a
feasible timeline for reaching this goal and what some realistic benchmarks might be.

Decide on Tactics
Once you’ve decided on a goal and timeline, the next step is to figure out your strategy. This not
only includes the step of determining your target as listed above, but also think about the tactics
you will utilize. The tactics you use should be decided on in a way that escalates demands and
gets you closer to achieving your goals. There is an extensive list of nonviolent campaign tactics
developed by Gene Sharp that you can access here. But some ideas include political education
of target communities, rallies, petitions, and social media campaigns.

Specific tactics that you should think about at this stage including scheduling a meeting with a
potential sponsor of any resolutions or bills you want to put forward as well as trying to schedule
and conduct a hearing. If you are unsure who in city council might be supportive of sanctuary,
try scheduling meetings (perhaps privately) with multiple representatives. This will not only
give you a sense who could be a potential sponsor, but how others would vote – which will help
you figure where you need to dedicate your efforts.

Both of these tactics will not only make the issue of sanctuary visible, but will also get the ball
rolling and signal to city council officials that you/your community intends to get serious
commitment to push the issue further.

Make a Timeline
Decide as a group collectively what time frame makes the most sense. The timeline you come
up with should also reflect any city council cycles/calendars in addition to thinking about one
that is based on a realistic assessment of how long it will take to build a base large enough to
pressure city officials to take action. Some campaigns may look at long-term education efforts
for the community at large to build support for sanctuary or for adding an anti-war component to
sanctuary, recognizing that an actual city council vote and a potential win may be some time in
the future.

Now that you have taken the time to power map, plan a meeting with your community and create a timeline, you can get started in taking the steps necessary to get sanctuary on your city council’s agenda.  Remember that this will take time and that political education of both the community and government officials may be necessary and useful in its own right. But with a good plan in place, your goal of making your community safe for those who are the most vulnerable and marginalized will hopefully be realized.

writing an op-ed

Part of getting a Sanctuary city resolution passed by city (or state) officials will involve major educational work that aims to shift the existing discourse on refugees, directing attention to why Sanctuary is important, and reframing public understanding of the root cause of migration.

Writing op-eds can be an effective way to engage with individuals who might not otherwise have a vested interest in advocating for sanctuary. Through personal stories, they can also capture the human element of the issue.

Writing a Press Release

In the event that your group holds an action, a public meeting, a meeting with city officials, etc., writing a good press release will help get both local and national media interested and engaged in the issue of Sanctuary. In many cases, journalists will simply take language from the press release to include in a brief story. Below are tips and sample language to help write an effective press release.

take action

As many of the most marginalized communities face increasing uncertainty in the United States, we hope that this toolkit will contribute to conversations about immigration by highlighting the role of U.S. wars and militarism in driving migration. We hope that this toolkit will help provoke questions and answers to push these conversations further.

We also know that there is more to be said when it comes to creating sanctuary for all impacted communities, so we also hope that this toolkit and the content within can be used to facilitate critical discussions and to create broader and more inclusive frameworks that keep all of our communities safe from various state agencies, from local police departments to federal immigration enforcement.

Our communities have been under attack for far too long. But by ensuring that the most vulnerable members of our communities are safe, we can stand up and fight back.

You can get started by sharing our toolkit with your community.

organizations and other resources

Anti-War Organizations:

About Face: Iraq Veterans Against the War
Alliance for Global Justice
American Friends Service Committee
Codepink
Friends Committee on National Legislation
International Action Center
National Priorities Project
School of the Americas Watch
September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows
War Resisters League
Win Without War
World Beyond War
United for Peace and Justice
US Labor Against the War
Veterans for Peace
Voices for Creative Nonviolence
Yemeni Alliance Committee

Other Resources
Forced Migration Online
American Federation of Teachers: Immigrant and Refugee Children: A Guide for Educators and School Support Staff
Catholic Legal Immigration Network Sanctuary Cities Toolkit
The Center for Popular Democracy and Local Progress Protecting Immigrant Communities: Municipal Policy to Confront Mass Deportation and Criminalization
Freedom Cities Platform
Interfaith Immigration Coalition: Local and State Immigration Toolkit
United We Dream: #HereToStay Toolkit; Sanctuary City/County/State
Unitarian Universalist Sanctuary Toolkit
Local Progress: Resources for Protecting Immigrant Communities
Mijente: Expanding Sanctuary: What Makes a City a Sanctuary Now
National Immigration Law Center: Sanctuary City Toolkit