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Civil wars ravaged many countries in Central America, in the 1980s. Nearly a million victims of kidnapping, rape and other violence sought refuge in the United States, the majority of them arriving here illegally. Sanctuary of refugees from Central American civil wars was a movement in the 1980s. In 1981, Rev. John Fife and Jim Corbett, among others, began bringing Central American refugees into the United States. It was their intent to offer sanctuary, or faith-based protection, from the political violence that was taking place in El Salvador and Guatemala.