Biography
James A. “Jim” Corbett was a Quaker rancher, philosopher, writer, and co-founder of the Sanctuary Movement. Born in Casper, Wyoming, on October 8, 1933, he began assisting Salvadoran refugees in 1981 and worked with the Rev. John Fife to make Southside Presbyterian Church a public sanctuary in March 1982. A federal indictment in January 1985 charged Corbett and ten others with helping Central American refugees enter and travel through the United States. A jury acquitted him of every charge on May 1, 1986. He died at his Cascabel, Arizona ranch on August 2, 2001.
Brief 1981 detention distinguished from the Sanctuary trial
In his own March 1985 Sojourners interview, Corbett describes INS staff locking him inside El Centro while demanding a recording, then releasing him after consulting a supervisor. His narrative places this episode in the early 1981 beginnings of his refugee assistance. A separate row records temporary detention and release at year precision only, with no formal arrest date, criminal charge, sentence or inferred duration. January 1 is only a storage placeholder, not a known event day. Corbett's original interview.
The former January 13, 1985 arrest and admission entries could not be corroborated and are withdrawn as structured facts. The same interview reports a January 23 Tucson arraignment, not an admission or physical release. Contemporary reporting dates the indictments January 14; that also is not a custody endpoint. His existing May 1, 1986 acquittal is retained as a verdict, not converted into a release date. The earlier temporary INS detention is not treated as continuous custody through the later trial. Original November 8, 1985 Militant, page 20. Existing identified photograph retained.
The contemporary Tucson trial report names Jim Corbett and John Fife among the sanctuary defendants. Jury selection began on October 22, 1985 before U.S. District Judge Earl Carroll; the report identifies prosecutor Donald Reno and dates the indictments to January 14. These are prosecution events, not new arrest, admission or release dates.
