Dear Santo Toribio

by Sarah Geis

10/21/2013

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In 2007, Oklahoma passed the toughest anti-immigration bill in the country. House Bill 1804 made it easier to deport people and it made it a felony to give someone without papers a job, a ride, or let them stay overnight in your home.

The law was designed to scare undocumented immigrants, and it did. But a community here in Tulsa–a mostly Mexican congregation of a Catholic church on the east side–saw this as an opportunity. They created a shrine for immigrants from all over America to visit and find hope. Here’s the story of that community, in their own words.

This story is part of State of the Re:Union’s episode about Tulsa, “Reconciliation Way,” produced in collaboration with This Land Radio.