Posted on 10/13/2019 3:56:09 PM PDT by Mrs. Don-o
A man who criticized President Donald Trumps immigration policies in the name of progressive Christianity was killed last week by an undocumented immigrant who avoided deportation by hiding in a local sanctuary church.
Sean Buchanan, a father of five from Colorado Springs, was driving his motorcycle on Highway 83 when Miguel Ramirez Valiente swerved into his lane and killed him. The immigrant was charged with reckless driving with a revoked license.
Ramirez Valiente received national media coverage in January when he sought sanctuary in All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church in Buchanans hometown. Speaking from the pulpit, he told assembled reporters that he had fled gang violence in El Salvador in 2005. He said he wanted to stay in the United States to care for his wife and three children even though his asylum application was denied.
In a sympathetic report at the time, CNN said Ramirez Valiente was one of about 50 immigrants who had tried to avoid U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in a church.
However, when he killed Buchanan, Ramirez Valiente was driving with a suspended license thanks to a 2018 DUI. He was also arrested for reckless endangerment in 2011 and domestic violence in 2016. A district attorney dismissed both charges.
After the crash, a close female acquaintance anonymously told ABC 7 Denver that Ramirez Valiente is an alcoholic and an abuser.
Sean Buchanan was a liberal immigration activist
In the years leading up to his death, Buchanan publicly advocated on behalf of asylum seekers like Ramirez Valiente. On Facebook and Twitter, he shared political commentary rooted in a liberal vision of Christianity in between marketing and business tips.
Buchanan ― who formerly worked for Christian app company aware3 ― often retweeted posts by the late progressive evangelical writer Rachel Evan Held. In one tweet from 2016, Buchanan declared that radical inclusivity is the most Christian phrase.
Last April, Buchanan posted a New York Times column to Facebook expressing longing for a Church committed to feminism and social justice ― as opposed to the real-life old boys club that is obsessed with dogma and rules.
At the same time, Buchanan ― who raised two adopted black sons along with his three daughters ― was harshly critical of the president for his views on gender, race and immigration.
In 2016, he recommended an article to his Twitter followers comparing Trump to Adolf Hitler. Days later, he tweeted that the presidents hardline approach to immigration evinced racism and ignorance.
I used to think that #racism and ignorance on this scale would just die off with older generations, but as @GeorgeTakei points out it continues to be handed down. #notdone #resist #freethekids https://t.co/Q2ZzEwERqv
Sean Buchanan (@sabuchanan7) September 23, 2018
In February, he retweeted a post calling Trump a racist.
Buchanan also used his Twitter account to condemn proposed restrictions on refugees and to highlight advocacy for more generous asylum policies. Trump has gone after the kind of immigrant who killed Sean Buchanan
Trump has sought to crackdown on undocumented immigrants like Ramirez Valiente, who ignore their deportation orders. Last month, the president made such immigrants the focus of his national immigration raids, which were widely criticized by liberals.
According to ABC 7, Buchanan had recently landed a new job in Denver and was moving his family to nearby Castle Rock when the fatal collision occurred.
His wife, Kathy Buchanan, told the station that her husband was a devoted family man. She set up a GoFundMe account to help pay for funeral expenses while she tries to figure out how to move forward.
Its hugging my kids tight, its relying on friends, she said. Its trying to figure out what a new normal looks like when the old normal was so good.
Christian Immigration Activist Sean Buchanan and family
`
Miguel Ramirez Valiente, Undocumented immigrant and multiple offender
who evaded deportation orders in a sanctuary church`
I always do feel sorry for people who, tragically, pay with their lives, because they didn't realize that...
Well thats whats known as cosmic justice.
He reaped what he sowed, so to speak.
Btt
Yeah this was all over the place here but it’s still good for a laugh :)
No pity here.
Karma is a beautiful thing.
Oh the irony!!
The immigrant was charged
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The article previous said he was “undocumented”, that means he is an illegal alien.
Immigrants have documents that they applied for, paid for, waited for and complied with that make them immigrants.
Christianity IS radically inclusive. But that doesnt mean nations cant maintain their sovereignty and control their borders and enforce their laws
Karma is a beautiful thing.
This guy had kids. Lets not float over a tragedy for them, no matter how misguided he was
You don't know why they adopted that child. But I guess if you say it, it must be so.
I guess his Karma ran over his dogma
Too late, the peanut gallery jumped right in on gloating.
Oh well!! SH!
NEVER get in the way of someone’s karma. Steer clear
poetic justice
“The immigrant was charged with reckless driving with a revoked license”
First he’s NOT an “immigrant”, he’s an illegal alien.....Second, he ought of have been charged with involuntary manslaughter.
I thought I read she had left Focus on the Family organization where she had worked
I have a hard time believing they would have kept her knowing her husbands radical beliefs
Progressive Christianity? What the hecknis that?
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