Jose Artiga, a young Salvadoran engineering student, fled to the U.S. after receiving threats from death squads during the civil war in El Salvador. Arriving in the U.S. without refugee status, he dedicated himself to advocating for other Salvadoran refugees. In 1982, Artiga participated in a hunger strike to raise awareness about the Salvadoran crisis, gaining attention from the local community. This activism led to the formation of East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, a coalition of churches committed to providing sanctuary and support for Salvadoran asylum seekers.
In March 1982, Artiga participated in a hunger fast at St. Boniface Church in downtown San Francisco to draw attention to the Salvadoran crisis, making the local news.
After his family told him about the order to kill him, Artiga was out of the country by 5 p.m. By that time the other college students were already dead, but their relatives couldn't recognize the bodies because they were cut into pieces.
Artiga joined three other Salvadoran asylum seekers as the ULC and four other Berkeley churches gathered in front of University Lutheran Chapel and announced their commitment to sanctuary.
Since the United States did not recognize the Salvadoran civil war, and its role in it, those who fled to the U.S. were considered economic migrants.
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