(From left) Arturo Hernandez Garcia, followed by his daughters Mariana and Andea and his wife Ana, emerge for a press conference at First Unitarian Society. The 41-year-old Mexican national, who for the last nine months has been living in the basement of the church to avoid deportation, received a letter from immigration officials telling him he is no longer an enforcement priority (Patrick Traylor, The Denver Post)
Re: “Mexican man leaves Denver church sanctuary after nine months,” July 22 news story.
I am grateful to have met Arturo Hernandez Garcia while he was living in sanctuary. Impressed by his integrity and the unfairness of his situation, I joined a three-day fast in front of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Washington, D.C., to draw attention to his plight and to petition ICE officials to review his case and explain their policy of “prosecutorial discretion.” Under ICE’s own policies, Arturo and thousands of others who pose no threat to public safety and have U.S. citizen children are not priorities for removal from this country and should therefore not be deported. In order to stay with his family, this good man lived in a church basement for nine months, and still his struggle may not be over. Many others have been taken from their families at great personal cost to them and great moral and financial cost to us.
Maureen Flanigan, Littleton
This letter was published in the July 25 edition.
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