Hindu Temple in Queens Joins Sanctuary Movement

When the Shaanti Bhavan Mandir in Queens became the first Hindu temple in the nation to publicly declare itself a sanctuary congregation, part of a network of houses of worship that will support and shelter undocumented immigrants, its leaders hoped other local Hindu temples would join, too.

But spearheading that effort is proving more difficult than they had hoped. Last Sunday, no other temples turned up at a meeting intended to encourage others to become sanctuary congregations. Even within their own temple, only a few undocumented immigrants have come forward to begin talking about their status, though more worship there, members said.