'We are engaging in faithful resistance': D.C.-area church shelters mom of three facing deportation
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Rosa Gutiérrez Lopez, a mom of three U.S. citizens including a boy with Down Syndrome, has become the first undocumented immigrant to publicly go into sanctuary in the Washington, D.C. area, following immigration officials ordering her to leave the countr'We are engaging in faithful resistance': D.C.-area church shelters mom of three facing deportation
Rosa Gutiérrez Lopez, a mom of three U.S. citizens including a boy with Down Syndrome, has become the first undocumented immigrant to publicly go into sanctuary in the Washington, D.C. area, following immigration officials ordering her to leave the country for her native El Salvador by Dec. 10. “I don’t know how long I will be here,” she said about her new home inside Cedar Lane Unitarian, “but I feel protected here.” Gutiérrez Lopez shouldn’t be a priority for deportation in the first place. Since 2014, she’s had a work permit issued to her by the U.S. that allowed her to work legally, so long as she continued checking in regularly with immigration officials. As someone with familial ties and no criminal record, she’d been considered low-priority for deportation. That changed following Donald Trump’s inauguration. “Suddenly,” Think Progress reports, “she had to come in twice a month and wear an ankle monitor at all times. Earlier this fall, agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began encouraging her to self-deport, and warning her that if she didn’t do it herself they’d come for her themselves soon enough.” When she got a deportation date, her attorney appealed to a judge, but her case is still pending. With three young kids and one who requires specialized therapies, she went to DMV Sanctuary Congregation Network for help. “We don’t see why she is a priority for deportation,” said Faith In Action’s Richard Morales, who helped coordinate with Cedar Lane Unitarian. “There is no reason to separate this woman from her children.” For now, Gutiérrez Lopez will try to call Cedar Lane Unitarian home—she “plans to work for her keep by working and cleaning in the church”—and her children will be able to visit her on weekends. On weekdays, they’ll continue their education and medical treatments, which is so much of the reason why she’s fighting to stay here in the first place. “This is the way we live into our values and convictions,” said Cedar Lane Unitarian’s Rev. Abhi Janamanchi. The church held a celebration earlier this week to welcome Gutiérrez Lopez, and laid hands on her in prayer. “We are engaging in faithful resistance to unjust laws and inhumane practices.” Read more