Program: Criminalizing Mercy

2025 Walter B. and Kay W. Shurden Lectures on Religious Liberty and Separation of Church and State

Featuring Dr. Sergio González

Criminalizing Mercy: Sanctuary and Government Repression of Migrant Justice

Schedule Tuesday, October 21 | 7 p.m. | Minneapolis Community Conversation: How can faith communities engage in sanctuary in this moment?

A conversation with Dr. Sergio M. González and community members

Wednesday, October 22 | 7 p.m. | University of St. Thomas, St. Paul Lecture: “Criminalizing Mercy: Sanctuary and Government Repression of Migrant Justice” Dr. González will explore how faith and law intersect in the fight for migrant justice.

(This lecture will be recorded.)

Thursday, October 23 | 12:30 p.m. | University of St. Thomas School of Law, Minneapolis Lunch Conversation with Virgil Wiebe, Professor at University of St. Thomas School of Law (Co-sponsored by the UST Immigration Law Society What is the optimal role of state and local government in immigration policy?

(This lecture will be recorded.)

About Dr. Sergio González Sergio M. González is Associate Professor of History at Marquette University. A historian of 20th century U.S. migration, labor, and religion, his scholarship explores the intersections between faith and social movements as well as the development of Latino communities in the U.S. Midwest. He is the author of Mexicans in Wisconsin (Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2017) and the co-editor of Faith and Power: Latino Religious Politics Since 1945 (New York University Press, 2022) with Felipe Hinojosa and Maggie Elmore. His most recently published book, Strangers No Longer: Latino Belonging and Faith in Twentieth-Century Wisconsin (University of Illinois Press, 2024), explores the relationship between Latino communities, religion, and social movements in the 20th century Midwest.

González’s current research expands on these themes through two new projects. The first examines the history of sanctuary movements in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, exploring the pivotal role religious institutions and people of faith have played in developing contemporary social movements for immigrant and refugee justice. His second project analyzes the central role the Midwest has come to play in the country’s fraught immigration politics, studying the century-long record of anti-immigrant sentiment in the region and the social movements that have risen to combat it.

Along with his academic scholarship, González is engaged in several public humanities projects, including co-writing and co-hosting The Look Back, a social studies show for middle school students on Wisconsin PBS; serving as a founding member of the Wisconsin Latinx History Collective; and co-writing and co-hosting Sanctuary: On the Border Between Church and State, a limited podcast series with Axis Mundi Media.

About the lectureship Dr. Walter B. and Dr. Kay W. Shurden made a gift to BJC in 2004 to establish this annual lectureship.

Each lecturer is a leader who can inspire and call others to an ardent commitment to faith freedom for all and the institutional separation of church and state. Learn more at BJConline.org/ShurdenLectures

We're able to host the Walter B. and Kay W. Shurden Lectures in partnership with local communities and universities thanks to a generous gift. If you'd like to make a gift to support our ongoing effort to equip local communities, you can make a donation here or scan the QR code.

BJC Based in Washington, D.C., BJC (Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty) is an 89-year-old organization working to defend faith freedom for all in the historic Baptist tradition. The group files briefs in pivotal Supreme Court cases, testifies in Congress and unites with others across religious and secular communities, to ensure that all Americans have, and will always have, the right to freedom of conscience or belief.

Visit BJConline.org to learn more.

University of St. Thomas Inspired by Catholic intellectual tradition, the University of St. Thomas educates students to be morally responsible leaders who think critically, act wisely, and work skillfully to advance the common good.

Immigration Law Society The Immigration Law Society (ILS) of the University of St. Thomas School of Law is dedicated to the professional development of students interested in the field of immigration law and policy by providing them with opportunities to actively participate in ILS meetings and events, build professional relationships within the immigration legal community, and engage in immigration law-related service opportunities.

Follow BJC on social media @BJContheHill