After living more than three years in a Salt Lake City church to avoid deportation, Honduran immigrant Vicky Chávez left the temple with tears in her eyes as parishioners. and friends cheered her on and celebrated her newfound freedom.
Chávez and his two young daughters took refuge in the Primera Iglesia Unitaria in January 2018, after he said he escaped from an abusive boyfriend in Honduras and applied for asylum in the United States, which he was denied.
Chávez entered the country illegally in June 2014, and in December 2016 a federal immigration judge ordered that she be deported. After exhausting his legal resources in January 2018, Chávez already had a plane ticket to San Pedro Sula, Honduras. But instead of using it, he accepted an offer of sanctuary from the church.
Chávez said that on Monday she received a notice from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) notifying her that she had received the so-called suspension of withdrawal, which puts her safe for a year from being deported.
“Vicky’s life is no longer on hold,” said the Rev. Tom Goldsmith, minister of the church. “He leaves this church with a full understanding of the English language, about two hundred friends, and the confidence to go after his dreams.”
Chávez thanked the church community for helping her and her daughters stay safe for the past 1,168 days, and said she plans to stay in Utah.
“I have no words to thank you for giving me a safe place for more than three years,” said Chávez. Today I can say that I am full of love and joy to have arrived here.
Salt Lake City County Mayor Jenny Wilson had tears in her eyes as she congratulated Chávez and urged citizens and elected officials to have “more compassion” for members of their communities.
Chávez and his daughters were the first known immigrants to have accepted sanctuary in Utah, according to local immigration activists and the state office of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
She and her daughters slept in a church classroom that was adapted and spent most of their time in another room with a television, an easel, and games.
Skyler Anderson, Chavez’s attorney, said he was very happy for his client and his family, but called on elected officials in Congress to prioritize changes in the country’s immigration system and facilitate the process for applicants for asylum.
“There are millions of Vickys in this country; I’ve represented many of them, ”Anderson said. “There are not enough churches to give sanctuary to all the Vickys in this country. This country needs to be that sanctuary ”.
Alethea Smock, a CBP spokeswoman, had no comment Thursday on the Chávez case.
In his first weeks in office, President Joe Biden signed several executive orders on immigration matters that reverse the policies of his predecessor Donald Trump, although several Republican lawmakers seek to challenge the measures.
Other migrants have left his sanctuary since Biden took office, including José Chicas, a 55-year-old Salvadoran who left a church-owned residence in Durham, North Carolina, on January 22.
Alex Garcia, a Honduran father of five, left a church in Mapplewood, Missouri, last February. Edith Espinal, originally from Mexico, left an Ohio church where she lived for more than three years.