© 2024 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY · WNPR
WPKT · WRLI-FM · WEDW-FM · Public Files Contact
ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Connecticut Delegation Visits Immigrant Mother Taking Sanctuary In New Haven Church

Three members of Connecticut’s congressional delegation met on Friday with the Guatemalan mother of four who sought sanctuary from deportation in a New Haven church.

Nury Chavarria was supposed to be sent back to Guatemala Thursday. She's lived in the U.S. for 24 years, and did not leave the country following several deportation orders in the late 1990s.

U.S. Senator Chris Murphy said Immigration and Customs Enforcement had allowed Chavarria to stay on humanitarian grounds that she needs to care for her U.S.-born children. Murphy said her circumstances haven’t changed, but ICE’s decision has, under the new administration.

“I'm a senator, and I don't encourage people to break the laws,” Murphy said. “But I'm a dad and a husband and a human being, and I cannot see the logic in the decision that ICE has made.”

Murphy said he and other elected officials plan to work with ICE to figure out a solution for Chavarria’s family.

Senator Richard Blumenthal said that in order to avoid other cases like Chavarria’s, Congress needs to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

Connecticut's Third District Representative Rosa DeLauro said she wants to see a more consistent immigration policy from the Trump administration.

“Our hope is that there will be a consistent policy -- that we are not going to move to deport people who have been playing by the rules, as I have said. Otherwise, you may continue to see this happen again,” DeLauro said.

ICE officials said in a statement that they consider Chavarria an ICE fugitive for failing to return to Guatemala this week. ICE officials also said that its current policy directs agency personnel to avoid conducting enforcement activities at sensitive locations like schools, hospitals, and places of worship.

The Iglesia De Dios Pentecostal Church in New Haven, Connecticut was where Nury Chavarria sought sanctuary in 2017.
Credit Ryan Caron King / WNPR
/
Connecticut Public Radio
Iglesia De Dios Pentecostal Church in New Haven, Connecticut.

Thomas Scott-Railton, a law student and member of the Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic at Yale Law School, said the Religious Freedom Restoration Act -- passed by Congress with bipartisan support in the early 1990s -- would shield the church for its actions.  Listen to him describe why.

“That act sets a very high bar for the government to prosecute a religious group for exercising their beliefs,” he said. “And what these sanctuary churches are doing is exercising their religious charity. These churches are saying that when families in need come to their doors, they won’t turn them away.”

Patrick Skahill is a reporter and digital editor at Connecticut Public. Prior to becoming a reporter, he was the founding producer of Connecticut Public Radio's The Colin McEnroe Show, which began in 2009. Patrick's reporting has appeared on NPR's Morning Edition, Here & Now, and All Things Considered. He has also reported for the Marketplace Morning Report. He can be reached at pskahill@ctpublic.org.
Ryan Caron King joined Connecticut Public in 2015 as a reporter and video journalist. He was also one of eight reporters on the New England News Collaborative’s launch team, covering regional issues such as immigration, the environment, transportation, and the opioid epidemic.
Cassandra Basler oversees Connecticut Public’s flagship daily news programs, Morning Edition and All Things Considered, and coordinates breaking news coverage on the air, online and in your morning email inbox. Her reporting has aired nationally on NPR’s All Things Considered, Morning Edition and Here & Now.

Stand up for civility

This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Public’s Members — listeners, viewers, and readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. As a community-supported public media service, Connecticut Public has relied on donor support for more than 50 years.

Your donation today will allow us to continue this work on your behalf. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are building a better—and more civil—Connecticut to live, work, and play.

Related Content