Mother who took sanctuary in church granted deportation stay
HARTFORD, Conn. — A housekeeper and mother of four who received sanctuary in a Connecticut church has been granted an emergency stay of a deportation order that would have sent her back to her native Guatemala.
Nury Chavarria, who entered the U.S. 24 years ago without legal status, was ordered in June to leave the country by July 20. The 43-year-old Norwalk resident instead took refuge inside the Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal church in New Haven.
“I’m here to raise my voice to tell we are not criminals,” she told The Associated Press during an interview inside the church on Monday. “We are people, hardworking, who came to this country to get a better life.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agreed on Wednesday to take another look at Chavarria’s case, and a federal judge issued the order protecting her from deportation, Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s office said.