NJ church gives sanctuary to 2nd Indonesian Christian facing deportation
Pastor Seth Kaper-Dale says he will ‘keep making space’
Comments (1)BY ERICA PEARSON / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Wednesday, March 28, 2012, 1:11 PM
JULIA XANTHOS/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Pastor Seth Kaper-Dale
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JULIA XANTHOS/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Two Indonesian Christians facing deportation have sought sanctuary inside the Reformed Church of Highland Park.
A New Jersey church gave sanctuary Wednesday to a second Indonesian immigrant facing deportation — and the pastor said more are welcome.
“We’re going to just keep making space,” said Pastor Seth Kaper-Dale of the Reformed Church of Highland Park.
Rovani Wangkoa, 45, is supposed to report to Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be sent back to the homeland he fled in 1995 because of religious persecution.
Instead, he’s decided to bunk with fellow parishioner Saul Timisela, who skipped his March 1 deportation appointment and is living in a Sunday school classroom.
Timisela, 45, said he has ventured onto the church’s porch and raked fallen flowers in the yard but strayed no further. Wankoa plans to do the same.
“Saul’s helping him feel comfortable,” said Kaper-Dale.
ICE did not immediately return a request for comment, but the agency has no apparent plans to raid the church to round up the immigration fugitives.
Wankoa, a chef who says left Muslim-majority Indonesia after being beaten on a public bus, has moved into the classroom next door to Timisela.
“It feels like my home, but this is the first time I’ve done something like this,” he said.
“I’m scared to go to Indonesia... Indonesia is no good for Christians.”
His sister, who lives in Ohio, has a green card and is applying for citizenship, he said.
Dozens of Indonesians affiliated with Kaper-Dale’s church who overstayed tourist visas and missed deadlines to apply for asylum are facing deportation.
Some have been told to leave immediately while others got extensions or reprieves. In March, three turned down Kaper-Dale’s offer of sanctuary and were deported.
Wankoa and Timisela were under special scrutiny from ICE because they agreed to leave in the past but did not go.
The pastor says his parishioners should be allowed to stay under President Obama’s new focus on booting immigrants with criminal records while allowing others with close ties to the U.S. to remain.
Legislation pending in the House of Representatives would let Indonesian Christians like those in Kaper-Dale’s flock re-apply for asylum even though they initially missed the deadline.
epearson@nydailynews.com
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nj-church-sanctuary-2nd-indonesian-christian-facing-deportation-article-1.1052071#ixzz1qREvKsTd
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