Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
General Christian
Politics and Religion
Safe Haven Cities: Biblical Refuge and Immigration Sanctuary

Safe Haven Cities: Biblical Refuge and Immigration Sanctuary

Last updated on: January 24, 2025 at 3:38 pm by Alice H. Murray

0 Comments

Safe Haven Cities: Biblical Refuge and Immigration Sanctuary 2025-01-24T15:38:48-05:00 Alice H. Murray

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

View from behind of three men from waist up with the one in the middle's hands handcuffed behind his back and the two mean flanking him with the one on the left wearing a shirt saying "POLICE ICE."

ICE can arrest illegal immigrants even within safe haven cities [Image from Wikimedia Commons]

The inauguration of 47th US president Donald Trump puts sanctuary cities front and center in his crackdown on illegal immigration. But cities providing safe haven are not a modern concept. The Old Testament made provision for cities of refuge back in biblical times. Whether biblical refuge or immigration sanctuary, safe haven cities aim for mercy as well as justice.

History of Safe Haven Cities

Many ancient Near Eastern cultures observed the custom of allowing specified religious places such as shrines to offer those accused of crimes safety and freedom from apprehension. The need for such locations arose from the common practice of family or clan retaliation. also known as blood vengeance.

As the Old Testament establishes, specific designation of cities of refuge in the division of the Promised Land between the twelve tribes of Israel occurred. The priestly Levites received distribution of forty-eight cities throughout the land, six of which were to serve as cities of refuge as identified in Joshua 20:7-8.

Location of Biblical Cities of Refuge

Accessibility was a key consideration for the cities of refuge for the Israelites. The chosen locations assured that no one was too far from a place of safety. In fact, anyone in Israel could reach such a location within a day or less.

Kedesh, Golan, Ramoth, Shechem, Bezer, and Hebron served as the six cities of refuge in north to south order. Three of these cities—Kedesh, Schechem, and Hebron—sat on the west side of the Jordan River with the other three on the river’s east side.

Kedesh, in ruins now, served as a safe haven city in Old Testament times [Image from Wikimedia Commons]

How Did Cities Of Refuge Work?

God set aside cities of refuge for use in the case of unintentional deaths. The accused would be safe from the victim’s family avenger until the case could go to trial for determination whether the act was unintentional. The temporary sanctuary provided a cooling-off period which helped to prevent a cycle of violence. It also helped direct the focus to a fair legal assessment from that of vengeance.

If a trial found the accused acted unintentionally, he remained in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest in office at the time. Following that high priest’s death, he could then return and live on his own property. Having cities of refuge in existence emphasized God’s desire for justice tempered with mercy. They stopped revenge killing and allowed the accused the opportunity to stand trial.

Modern Safe Haven Cities In The News

Today no biblical cities of refuge exist in the US, but sanctuary cities have popped up across the country. These safe haven cities do not relate to murder but to illegal immigration. Immigrants illegally in the US flock to such places.

As a result, President Trump has these cities in the crosshairs for his crackdown on illegal immigration. On Inauguration Day, he signed many executive orders aimed to clamp down on illegal immigration in keeping with his pledge to deport millions of illegal immigrants. A raid by immigration agents in the sanctuary city of Newark, New Jersey, New Jersey’s largest city, swiftly followed three days later rounding up undocumented migrants.

Man climbing a wall to enter the US illegally from Mexico

President Donald Trump is targeting safe haven cities to crack down on illegal immigration [Image by Wikimedia Commons]

What’s A Sanctuary City?

Unfortunately, no precise legal definition exists for a sanctuary city. Although the sanctuary is typically a city, counties and states may also serve as sanctuaries. Generally, the term describes a jurisdiction refusing to share information or to assist US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) with deportations.

The characterization as a sanctuary does not, however, mean a jurisdiction refuses to allow ICE’s presence. According to Global Refuge, sanctuaries often merely won’t arrest or keep people for an immigration issue only. Instead, the jurisdiction prioritizes its local resources for local problems rather than voluntarily assisting with national immigration enforcement. The bottom line? The sanctuary simply limits or denies cooperation with the federal government’s enforcement of immigration law.

Logo of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

ICE handles enforcement of immigration laws [Image from Wikimedia Commons]

Where Are Safe Haven Cities In The US?

California blazed the sanctuary city trail in this country. The city of Berkeley became the first in the US to pass a sanctuary resolution in November 1971. Later, in 2017 with the governor’s signature on a legislation, the entire state became a sanctuary. Currently eleven states plus the District of Columbia have designated themselves as sanctuaries. Nevertheless, many states, such as Alabama and Florida, have banned sanctuary cities. Between 2022 and 2024, thousands of migrants were bused from Texas to Chicago, Washington, DC, New York City, Philadelphia, Denver, and Los Angeles, identified as sanctuary cities.

What Safe Haven Cities Teach

While today’s sanctuary cities provide a source of debate and controversy, they do point to a biblical view embraced by the cities of refuge in the Old Testament. Justice must be tempered with mercy. If they accomplish nothing else, safe haven cities force consideration of the concept of refuge and remind believers how they can turn to Jesus as the ultimate refuge from the condemnation of the law.

Evangelical

Politics and Religion

History and Religion

About Alice H. Murray

After 35 years as a Florida adoption attorney, Alice H. Murray now pursues a different path as Operations Manager for End Game Press. With a passion for writing, she is constantly creating with words. Her work includes contributions to several Short And Sweet books, The Upper Room, Chicken Soup For The Soul, Abba’s Lessons (from CrossRiver Media), and the Northwest Florida Literary Review. Alice is a regular contributor to GO!, a quarterly Christian magazine in the Florida Panhandle, and she has three devotions a month published online by Dynamic Women in Missions. Her devotions have also appeared in compilation devotionals such as Ordinary People Extraordinary God (July 2023) and Guideposts’ Pray A Word A Day, Vol. 2 (June 2023) and pray a word for Hope (September 2023). Alice’s first book, The Secret of Chimneys, an annotated Agatha Christie mystery, was released in April 2023. She has an adoption devotional scheduled for publication in October 2025. On a weekly basis, Alice posts on her blog about current events with a humorous point of view at aliceinwonderingland.wordpress.com. You can read more about the author here.

Previous Post

January 19, 2025

Washington National Cathedral - Faith and Politics Intersect

Next Post

February 1, 2025 Malta: Biblical Castaways To Modern Tourists

Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not _____ or boast...

Select your answer to see how you score.

Envy Scream Brag