Stay of Deportation Granted For Immigrant Woman Taking Sanctuary In Church

NEW HAVEN, CT — A Norwalk woman who took sanctuary in a city church in order to avoid being deported has been granted a stay of deportation. The mother of four U.S.-born children will now be able to stay in the country, at least for now.

Nury Chavarria was scheduled to be deported last week, but instead of getting on a plane back to her native Guatemala decided to take refuge in Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal in the Fair Haven neighborhood. To sign up for New Haven breaking news alerts and more, click here.

“Today, reason and compassion have prevailed," said Gov. Dannel Malloy. "There was never a rational justification for Nury Chavarria to have been threatened with deportation and separated from her children, and I applaud this decision by ICE and the court to allow her to continue living and working in the United States with her family."

The church became the site of rallies and politicians including Gov. Dannel Malloy and U.S. Senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal.

"For years, Ms. Chavarria has abided by the requirements set forth by immigration officials in order to stay in this country, raise her children, go to work, and support her family," said Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman. "I’m grateful to the many advocates and the church community that took a brave stand to protect her, to fight for her, and to call attention to a situation that, if allowed to proceed unchecked, would not have furthered our national security interests.

Chavarria applied for asylum status when she arrived in the country in 1993, according to the Hartford Courant. The request was denied and she was given a voluntary order for deportation in 1998. In 2011 she began checking in with ICE annual and was granted stays of removal. At her annual check-in in June she was told she would likely be deported.

U.S. Rep. Rosa Delauro, a Democrat from New Haven said that granting the reprieve was the right thing to do.

“The story of Nury Chavarria, as well as those of Luis Barrios and others, demonstrate the need for Congress to take up comprehensive immigration reform," she said. "Families should not have to live in fear of being torn apart because the system is broken.”

Murphy said a sigh of relief could be breathed over the situation.

"But this is just a temporary victory, and only when President Trump's mean-spirited policy of tearing apart parents from their young children ends will meaningful justice be achieved," he said. "My staff and I will keep pushing ICE to make sure Nury can stay here at home in Connecticut pending Congress passing comprehensive immigration reform.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has had a policy since 2011 that advises officials against operations in sensitive locations such as houses of worship, schools, hospitals and protests, according to the New Haven Independent.

Chavarria has worked as a full-time housekeeper and is the primary provider for her four children who range in age from 21 to 9-years-old. Her eldest has cerebral palsy. She has been in the U.S. for 24 years.

Image via Pat Eaton-Robb/AP