Religion and Pan-Latino Consciousness: Fr. Luis Olivares and the Sanctuary Movement in Los Angeles, 1980-1985

My paper proposal for the Latino Studies conference concerns the sanctuary movement in Los Angeles in the early 1980s when thousands of Central Americans especially from El Salvador entered as political refugees. Fleeing the... [ view full abstract ]

My paper proposal for the Latino Studies conference concerns the sanctuary movement in Los Angeles in the early 1980s when thousands of Central Americans especially from El Salvador entered as political refugees. Fleeing the civil war in El Salvador including Death Squads, the Salvadorans were refused political refugee status by the Reagan administration that falsely claimed that they were instead “illegal aliens” entering in order to take jobs from U.S. citizens. Supporting the authoritarian governments and military in El Salvador, the administration could not betray its client state and accept the refugees as legitimate refugees without being critical of the repressive regimes. Rejected by the U.S. government, the refugees found some Americans through their churches and synagogues willing to defy the government and support the Central Americans. This began the sanctuary movement in the United States. In Los Angeles, where about half a million Central Americans resided, the heart and soul of the sanctuary movement was at La Placita Church in downtown L.A. The success of the sanctuary movement was due to the charismatic and courageous leadership exhibited by Fr. Luis Olivares, the pastor. A Claretian priest who had become a disciple of Liberation Theology, Olivares embraced the refugees and sheltered as many as he could on church property as well as providing food, clothes, medical assistance, and jobs. To accomplish this, however, Olivares had to promote a pan-Latino consciousness among his predominantly Mexican American and Mexican immigrant parishioners. He did this by integrating Central American religious symbols into the church; by accepting them into the congregation at Sunday Masses; by preaching for the need to accept the Central Americans; and by hosting Salvadoran and Central American clergy as well as lay leaders from the region. In a short period of time, Olivares had achieved some semblance of a new pan-Latino consciousness that brought together Mexicans and Central Americans into making La Placita into the center piece of the sanctuary movement not only in Los Angeles but of the country. This paper notes how liberationist faith-based movements can be subversive of the dominant order by not only challenging the status quo, but also in the development of a progressive Latino consciousness that bridges the varied Latino communities together. This was done at La Placita and it can be done elsewhere today.