Harris United Methodist Church is one of the first faith congregations in the state to declare itself a sanctuary to protect undocumented immigrants facing deportation.

In April the congregation voted to take on the risks involved in violating federal law, said the Rev. Rona Mangayayam, associate pastor since 2009.

“It is not only the right and moral thing to do, for Harris Church it is what our faith calls us to do,” she said, despite “a lot of fear,” and resistance from a few of its members. “We took the risk boldly” and decided to work out the problems that come with the challenge, she said.

Mangayayam discussed the decision during a forum Tuesday on how faith and advocacy groups can work together to protect immigrants from harassment and deportation. The “Faith, Immigration and Solidarity” forum at Harris was co-sponsored by The Interfaith Alliance of Hawaii (TIAH) and Hawaii J20+, a grass-roots University of Hawaii-based group formed to resist policies implemented under the administration of President Donald Trump.

“(The election of Trump) brought deep frustration, despair and, most of all, fear to many,” she said. “In response we reminded ourselves that love trumps hate.” Harris began networking with other groups to protest the controversial travel ban on residents from six predominantly Muslim countries, and a crackdown on undocumented immigrants from Mexico.

Among other activities, Harris members were part of a protest rally at the Department of Homeland Security office on Ala Moana Boulevard in June to prevent the deportation of a Mexican immigrant known just as “Minerva,” Mangayayam said. The church wrote a check to cover a $5,000 bond, raised spontaneously by some 40 supporters there.

Mangayayam in a later interview with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser said the membership in the Nuuanu church includes up to 300, but about 170 regular attendees are “passionate on social justice issues.” Its 129-year history is predominated by outreach to immigrants and the inner city’s poor. Although “it was clear we would be violating the law” against sheltering undocumented immigrants, the congregation decided to walk “a very fine line” and follow “the law of the gospel.”

Voting to become a “covenant sanctuary church” means Harris “pledges to welcome and extend radical hospitality to those who may be treated or negatively affected by immigration policies of the federal government,” she said. A few people were concerned mainly about how the safety of the church campus would be affected, especially with a preschool on the grounds. “We acknowledged their fears and couldn’t answer all their questions, but we took the risk and hoped that we will be able to work out the details,” she added.

They plan to set up a “rapid-response network” of people who can help in case the church decides to shelter someone seeking refuge. Mangayayam said those who want to volunteer should email her at rona@harrisumc.org or call the church, 20 S. Vineyard Blvd., at 536-9602.

Church of the Crossroads, a United Church of Christ congregation heavily involved in J20+ activities, is in the process of declaring itself a sanctuary church, according to organizer John Kawamoto, who belongs to both groups. St. Mary of Moiliili Episcopal Church pastor Gregory Johnson has also expressed interest, among others.

“Each and every one of Trump’s actions are guaranteed to do one thing: increase the number of people who are forced to enter, live and work in the U.S. without official permission,” J20+ Co-chairman Nandita Sharma, a UH associate professor of sociology, said, referring to the travel ban, restrictions on refugees entering the U.S. and rescinding Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) for children of Mexican immigrants.

“The greatest fear of employers, of people like Donald Trump, of people who want to kill people for trying to survive, their greatest fear is our unity, our solidarity, our refusal to say that the statuses that states give us (whether it’s citizen, green card holder, visa worker or undocumented, etc.), those statuses are designed to divide us, and we can choose to unite instead,” Sharma said.

J20+ is lobbying for state legislation against local police assisting the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in deportations, Sharma said. It’s also trying to get Honolulu to become a sanctuary city.