'We will give her shelter': North Carolina church to protect undocumented grandma facing deportation

Daily Kos Staff

Wednesday May 31, 2017 · 1:57 PM PDT

2017/05/31 · 13:57

Demonstrators gather outside the First Unitarian Church in Denver, Colorado on February 18, 2017 in support of Jeanette Vizguerra, an undocumented Mexican mother of three US born children. .Vizguerra received sanctuary at the church and has been living in the church's basement since February 15 when she avoided a scheduled meeting with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials for fear of immediate detention and deportation.It is uncommon for US authorities to enter places of worship, schools and hospitals to deport undocumented immigrants... / AFP / Jason Connolly (Photo credit should read JASON CONNOLLY/AFP/Getty Images)

A North Carolina church this week offered sanctuary to an undocumented grandmother facing imminent deportation, after ICE refused to grant her a stay of removal. Juana Luz Tobar Ortega, a mom of four, grandmother of two, and wife of a U.S. citizen, has lived in the U.S. since fleeing violence in Guatemala nearly 25 years ago, near the end of the nation’s decades-long civil war. ”The church, hearing of her plight two weeks ago, voted to offer her shelter instead of seeing her separated from her family,” notes the News and Record. Local advocates say “this is the first time in several years that someone has been offered sanctuary in North Carolina”:

“There’s absolutely no reason for this woman to be torn away from her family and her community. She’s a child of God and we will give her shelter until ICE drops her deportation order,” said St. Barnabas Rev. Randall Keeney in a statement.

According to the News and Record, Ortega said she "hope[d] to return to my home soon. To be with my family.” During the “emotional press conference” featuring her family, community advocates, and faith leaders from St. Barnabas, her grandchildren held signs reading, “Don’t deport my grandma.”

St. Barnabas is just one of the hundreds of houses of worship nationwide that have pledged “holy resistance” to Donald Trump’s deportation force.

A month after his election, some 450 houses of worship promised to shelter undocumented immigrants. By May, that number had doubled, which church leaders and congregations vowing to defy his anti-immigrant policies. ”My baptismal covenant,” said a pastor from a Philadelphia church built by Abraham Lincoln’s favorite minister, was “that I would take the power and the freedom that God gives me to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they show themselves.”

Among the undocumented immigrants who sought sanctuary was Jeanette Vizguerra, who won a stay of deportation from ICE until 2019 after taking shelter in a Denver church for nearly 90 days. During that period, Vizguerra was named one of Time’s 100 most influential people for her bravery and activism, no doubt aided by the onslaught of press and outcries from advocates and allies. Following Ortega’s press conference, her family took their case to the office of Sen. Thom Tillis, in hopes of a similar outcome:

Later in the morning, the group made a caravan to Tillis' High Point office, where they serenaded those inside with a hymn with the oft repeated words, "They shall know we are Christians by our love."

Tillis was in the state but not at that office, according to his staff, who accepted a petition on Ortega's behalf.

"All he has to do is listen," said Ortega's daughter, Lesvi Molina, as she stood with about 100 people outside the office.

Ortega now speaking, thanking the church for offering sanctuary. Hopes she doesn't have to stay away from home for long. pic.twitter.com/2EowZTULjw
— Sean Bueter (@SeanBueter) May 31, 2017

Ortega's oldest daughter, in tears, pleads for a stay from @SenThomTillis. pic.twitter.com/JMTdOSrtUc
— Sean Bueter (@SeanBueter) May 31, 2017

Ortega's family visiting @SenThomTillis' office, asking for help with her deportation case. @wfdd pic.twitter.com/EVQMVjSAuL
— Sean Bueter (@SeanBueter) May 31, 2017

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