Tekun
19th August 2006, 13:09
ICE official says government won't enter church, Arellano unconvinced
By NATHANIEL HERNANDEZ
Associated Press Writer
Published August 18, 2006, 3:58 PM CDT
CHICAGO -- Immigration enforcement officers do not plan to enter a storefront church on the city's West Side where an activist has sought sanctuary since she was scheduled to be deported this week, a government official said Friday.
But Elvira Arellano and her supporters say only a stay of deportation will ensure that she and her 7-year-old son, who is a U.S. citizen, are not forcibly removed from the Adalberto United Methodist Church in the city's Humboldt Park neighborhood.
The situation doesn't change," Arellano said in Spanish Friday.
Arellano has been living in the church since Tuesday, when the 31-year-old single mother was supposed to surrender to authorities for deportation to Mexico.
Officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had said they would apprehend Arellano at a time and place "of their choosing" and that nothing prevented them from going into the church. But on Friday, a government official close to the case said immigration agents have decided against entering the church to remove Arellano.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because it is against ICE policy to discuss operational matters, said the Arellano case carries "no more priority than any of the other 500,000 fugitives nationally."
She will be apprehended "at an appropriate time and place," the official said.
Arellano said she was unconvinced that immigration officials would not try to apprehend her at the church, where supporters kept a watchful eye on the flow of traffic at the front door.
"Until I have something in writing that says they are giving me an extension so that I can stay in the country with my son, for me there is no security," Arellano said.
Rev. Walter Coleman, the church's pastor, said the ICE decision gives Arellano more time to fight for a stay of deportation.
"We are very thankful to God that there is a space that has been created where the voice of family unity can be heard," he said.
The small, un-airconditioned church in a predominantly Puerto Rican neighborhood has become the epicenter of the local immigration movement. It was abuzz with activity Friday as supporters lined up to read statements to the media and curious neighbors tried to catch a glimpse of the petite woman with piercing, coffee-colored eyes who has publicly defied a federal deportation order.
In between interviews, Arellano posed for pictures taken with camera phones and listened to random well-wishers pledge their support. Many who wandered into the church are in similar situations or have relatives trying to avoid deportation. The federal government estimated Friday that 11 million illegal immigrants were living in the United States at the start of this year.
Uriel Avalos, his wife, Maria, and their two small children were among those who stood in line at the church to meet Arellano.
"It's very sad what is happening to her because she wasn't doing anything bad," said Uriel Avalos. If immigration agents tried to enter the church, Avalos said they would likely "run into a lot of people."
Activist Fabian Morales said supporters would do what they could to prevent Arellano from being taken away. Many remain at the church around the clock.
"We are here to protect her," he said.
Arellano was deported shortly after illegally crossing into the United States in 1997. She returned within days, living for three years in Oregon before moving to Chicago in 2000. She was arrested two years later at O'Hare International Airport, where she was working as a cleaning woman, and convicted of working under a false Social Security number.
In the years since her 2002 arrest, she has become a vocal proponent for immigration reform and is president of United Latino Family, a group that lobbies for families that could be split by deportation.
She says she wants to stay in this country to provide a better life for her son.
While she has remained inside the church the last few days, she said her son has ventured out front to play, but never without a companion.
"I don't want him to be out there for very long," she said.
Raids and persecutions in America against the illegal immigrant population are currently taking place on a large scale
To these poor ppl, American has transformed into a police state, with raids-persecutions-and searches going on in all cities
IMO, if the police do raid this chuch, chances are that the current immigrant movement will use this symbolic event as a rallying cry
By NATHANIEL HERNANDEZ
Associated Press Writer
Published August 18, 2006, 3:58 PM CDT
CHICAGO -- Immigration enforcement officers do not plan to enter a storefront church on the city's West Side where an activist has sought sanctuary since she was scheduled to be deported this week, a government official said Friday.
But Elvira Arellano and her supporters say only a stay of deportation will ensure that she and her 7-year-old son, who is a U.S. citizen, are not forcibly removed from the Adalberto United Methodist Church in the city's Humboldt Park neighborhood.
The situation doesn't change," Arellano said in Spanish Friday.
Arellano has been living in the church since Tuesday, when the 31-year-old single mother was supposed to surrender to authorities for deportation to Mexico.
Officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had said they would apprehend Arellano at a time and place "of their choosing" and that nothing prevented them from going into the church. But on Friday, a government official close to the case said immigration agents have decided against entering the church to remove Arellano.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because it is against ICE policy to discuss operational matters, said the Arellano case carries "no more priority than any of the other 500,000 fugitives nationally."
She will be apprehended "at an appropriate time and place," the official said.
Arellano said she was unconvinced that immigration officials would not try to apprehend her at the church, where supporters kept a watchful eye on the flow of traffic at the front door.
"Until I have something in writing that says they are giving me an extension so that I can stay in the country with my son, for me there is no security," Arellano said.
Rev. Walter Coleman, the church's pastor, said the ICE decision gives Arellano more time to fight for a stay of deportation.
"We are very thankful to God that there is a space that has been created where the voice of family unity can be heard," he said.
The small, un-airconditioned church in a predominantly Puerto Rican neighborhood has become the epicenter of the local immigration movement. It was abuzz with activity Friday as supporters lined up to read statements to the media and curious neighbors tried to catch a glimpse of the petite woman with piercing, coffee-colored eyes who has publicly defied a federal deportation order.
In between interviews, Arellano posed for pictures taken with camera phones and listened to random well-wishers pledge their support. Many who wandered into the church are in similar situations or have relatives trying to avoid deportation. The federal government estimated Friday that 11 million illegal immigrants were living in the United States at the start of this year.
Uriel Avalos, his wife, Maria, and their two small children were among those who stood in line at the church to meet Arellano.
"It's very sad what is happening to her because she wasn't doing anything bad," said Uriel Avalos. If immigration agents tried to enter the church, Avalos said they would likely "run into a lot of people."
Activist Fabian Morales said supporters would do what they could to prevent Arellano from being taken away. Many remain at the church around the clock.
"We are here to protect her," he said.
Arellano was deported shortly after illegally crossing into the United States in 1997. She returned within days, living for three years in Oregon before moving to Chicago in 2000. She was arrested two years later at O'Hare International Airport, where she was working as a cleaning woman, and convicted of working under a false Social Security number.
In the years since her 2002 arrest, she has become a vocal proponent for immigration reform and is president of United Latino Family, a group that lobbies for families that could be split by deportation.
She says she wants to stay in this country to provide a better life for her son.
While she has remained inside the church the last few days, she said her son has ventured out front to play, but never without a companion.
"I don't want him to be out there for very long," she said.
Raids and persecutions in America against the illegal immigrant population are currently taking place on a large scale
To these poor ppl, American has transformed into a police state, with raids-persecutions-and searches going on in all cities
IMO, if the police do raid this chuch, chances are that the current immigrant movement will use this symbolic event as a rallying cry