U.S. Indicts 16 on Alien Aid Charges : Clerics in Group Accused of Illegally Giving Sanctuary

Sixteen people, including a Protestant minister, two Roman Catholic priests and three nuns, were charged in a federal indictment today with conspiring to transport illegal aliens from Central America to obtain sanctuary in the United States.

While the indictment was being served on a number of those named in Tucson, U.S. Atty. A. Melvin McDonald announced it in Phoenix.

McDonald said charges in the indictment include conspiracy, aiding and abetting illegal aliens, bringing illegal aliens into the United States, transporting illegal aliens, concealing, harboring and shielding illegal aliens, encouraging or inducing or attempting to encourage the entry of illegal aliens, and unlawful entry, eluding examination or inspection.

Indicted Last Year

Among those indicted was sanctuary movement activist Philip M. Conger, who was indicted last year on charges of transporting and aiding and abetting four undocumented Salvadorans. The government later dropped charges against him.

McDonald said those named in the latest indictment also include two Catholic priests, one from Nogales, Ariz., and the other from Nogales, Mexico, and the three Catholic nuns. He said the indictments were returned by a federal grand jury in Phoenix on Thursday but kept secret until today.

The Rev. James Fife, pastor of Southside Presbyterian Church, said the summons he received this morning ordered him to appear Jan. 23 before a federal magistrate in Phoenix.

Church-Sponsored Movement

The nationwide church-sponsored sanctuary movement, which began in Tucson, has worked to bring Central American refugees, mainly from El Salvador and Guatemala, into this country.

Members of the movement contend that the 1980 Refugee Act allows granting legal asylum to refugees who are fleeing political oppression and violence.

The U.S. government contends that most people leaving those countries do so for economic reasons and are ineligible for special status.