Two Convicted of Smuggling Salvadorans, Vow to Continue Sanctuary Refugee Work

Two members of the church sanctuary movement accused of smuggling Salvadoran aliens into the United States were convicted by a federal jury Thursday, but both vowed to continue their refugee work even in the face of possible long-term jail sentences.

Jack Elder, 41, and Stacey Lynn Merkt, 30, were convicted after four hours of jury deliberation. Elder was found guilty on six counts of illegally transporting aliens. Merkt was convicted of conspiracy to smuggle the refugees into the country.

Immediately after the trial, U.S. Atty. Dan Hedges issued a stinging rebuke to the sanctuary movement, made up of church groups who believe that Salvadorans are political--not economic--refugees.

“I’m afraid some Salvadorans here are victims of a political movement,” he said. “The real goal is opposition to American foreign policy in Central America.”

Will Continue Work

Elder and Merkt said they were shocked at the verdict but will continue to work at Casa Oscar Romero, a San Benito, Tex., shelter for Central Americans funded by the Catholic Church.

“I expected to be judged by a jury of my peers,” Elder said. “That did not happen.”

Merkt was more emphatic. “It’s inconceivable to me to me that I’m convicted when I am innocent.”

The two were found guilty after the prosecution called only one witness who identified them as persons who helped Salvadorans enter the country illegally. The witness, Salvadoran Jose Mendez-Valle, said both helped him and several other aliens across the border. But he also testified that border agents told him that they would help him visit relatives in Washington, D.C., if he cooperated with the investigation.

Merkt produced seven witnesses who testified that she was attending a wedding in New York during the period the prosecution claimed she was transporting aliens from the San Benito shelter to the bus station in McAllen, Tex. The jury found her not guilty on the smuggling charges but guilty of conspiracy to smuggle.

Similar Conviction

Merkt faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. She was already on probation for a similar conviction last May. At the time, Judge Filemon Vela, who also presided over this week’s trial, said she would be jailed if she ever came before him again.

Elder, who was acquitted in Corpus Christi last month in another refugee case, could be given a 30-year prison sentence and a $28,000 fine. Sentencing was set for March 27.

One of the lawyers for the two, Elisabeth Brodyaga, said she believes that the two were put on trial because the government disapproved of a movement that ran contrary to U.S. refugee policy.

“It’s not the breaking of the law that bothers them; it’s the embarrassment,” she said.

Hedges said federal officials did not want to single out the sanctuary movement as a target.

“We don’t want a confrontation with the Catholic Church (a major supporter of the movement) or any other church in South Texas. That’s the last thing we want,” he said.

“We have laws on the books to apply for asylum,” he said. “There are a lot of legal avenues available to these people.”