“Sanctuary” as a Floating Signifier; US Churches, Public Schools, and the Movement to Protect Undocumented Peoples

Bibliographic Data

ID21638951
AuthorsBruce A Collet (Bowling Green State University, corresponding author), Luis Fernando Macías (California State University, Fresno)
Year2026
Pages1-15
Publication date2026-07-02
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEquity & Excellence in Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1066-5684 • E-ISSN: 1547-3457
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10665684.2026.2691820
OpenAlexW7167094141
LanguageEN
References cited11

This article compares the self-declared “sanctuary” identities of US churches and US public schools within the larger sanctuary movement to protect undocumented people. Through analysis of church as well as public school sanctuary resolutions from across the country, and interviews with 46 church, organization, and school leaders from 15 US cities across the two coasts and Midwest, we examine the degree to which sanctuary US public schools diverge from sanctuary churches with respect to their definitions of and identifications with sanctuary. We examine sanctuary-identification as a discursive practice, and find that the identity has largely operated as a “floating signifier” across the movement. We argue that a shared model of sanctuary as a human right bridges the gap between churches and schools, mounting a strong response to a hegemonic project that criminalizes the sanctuary concept

Civil rights · Immigration · Public education · Social movement · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics · Religion, Society, and Development

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