Bethesda Church Offers Mother Sanctuary From Deportation: WATCH

BETHESDA, MD — Federal agents wanted Rosa Gutierrez Lopez out of the United States by Dec. 10, 2018. But the undocumented El Salvadoran immigrant couldn't bear the thought of leaving her three U.S.-born children behind.

All her children are under the age of 13, and the youngest has Down syndrome. Getting deported from the United States means she has to return to her home in Central America — which, as The Washington Post reports, was raided by gangs and is lacking special-needs resources.

So, instead of flying back south, Gutierrez Lopez has sought sanctuary from deportation inside the Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church in Bethesda. She has been living in the church for six months, according to Montgomery Community Media.

"I have a deportation order, and I've made the decision to take sanctuary because today's administration has put a lot of pressure on me that I must go back to my country," Gutierrez Lopez told MCM.

Gutierrez Lopez's interview with the news outlet comes as President Donald Trump announced that U.S Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents would remove "millions of illegal aliens" who've made their way into the country.

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Since that tweet on June 17, Trump has decided to postpone the planned raid. The nationwide sweep was slated for June 23, but was put on hold for two weeks, according to Trump, so Congressional Democrats could come up with an immigration deal.

Still, the message has spread fear among immigrant communities as they brace for possible deportation.

Gutierrez Lopez says she cannot fight to stay in the U.S. while in El Salvador.

"If I go back to my country, I will not have the opportunity to fight my case because it cannot be done from over there," she told MCM.

Gutierrez Lopez was first detained while crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in 2005 and told to appear in immigration court in Texas, according to The Post. While moving to the East Coast, she did not know that she had to confirm the date of the hearing. She never showed up to immigration court and was issued a deportation order.

The El Salvadoran later settled and raised her three kids in Fredericksburg, Virginia. In 2014, she learned that ICE agents were looking for her and she found a lawyer. The Post reports that Gutierrez Lopez has since appeared for regular check-ins.

The U.S. has issued Gutierrez Lopez a stay of removal — or a temporary postponement that prevents federal agents from deporting an undocumented immigrant.

Gutierrez Lopez's stay of removal ended in December of 2018. She had a plane ticket to El Salvador, but decided not to leave the U.S. when her friend mentioned a church group that was providing sanctuary to those in need, according to MCM.

"The church I was going to go to at first was in Richmond, but that church was not ready to receive me the next day," Gutierrez Lopez said.

Then the Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church in Bethesda took her in. The church, according to MCM, is to provide her with clothes and food. She cannot leave church grounds while under the group's protection. Her children live in Fredericksburg, and she gets to see them every other week.

"Our faith calls us to do this work. Our faith calls us to honor the inherent worth and dignity of every person, and to seek justice, compassion, and equity in all human relations," Rev. Katie Ramono Griffin, the church's assistant minister, said. "And we are living in a time when our immigration laws are unjust and unfair."

Six months in," she continues, "I know we made the right decision."

More of Gutierrez Lopez's story can be found on MCM's website. A video of the story is embedded below:

VIDEO: Montgomery Community Media/YouTube