Article content

VANCOUVER — For more than three years, U.S. Army deserter Rodney Watson has staved off deportation using nothing more than the brick walls of Downtown Vancouver’s First United Church — and the unwritten biblical code of “sanctuary.”

Thus, when border officials spotted Mr. Watson “off property” during a routine check of the building Tuesday, they saw fit to make their move.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or U.S. Army deserter escapes capture outside Vancouver church ‘sanctuary’ when elderly friend fights off officers Back to video

Seeing the officers approach, an elderly friend of Mr. Watson rushed in to fight them off, allowing the 35-year-old to foil their pursuit and slip back over the church’s threshold.

“It was a bit of a mystery why [border officials] were there at that particular time, almost waiting, it seemed,” said a church official.

The episode is one of the starkest examples yet of Canadian border agents being stopped by the “sanctity” of a church — a practice they claim not to recognize.

Last September, in reaction to a similar asylum case in Saskatchwan, Canadian Border Services Agency spokeswoman Lisa White told Postmedia “Canada has one of the most generous and fair immigration systems in the world, however, we’re not tolerant of those who abuse this generosity by attempting to circumvent our laws.”