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How Churches Are Able To Offer Immigrants Sanctuary Based On Religious Freedom

Ryan Caron King
/
WNPR
Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal Church in New Haven, Connecticut.

A Norwalk mother of four who was supposed to be deported last week has instead taken refuge in a New Haven church. 

Nury Chavarria’s 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.

Thomas Scott-Railtonis a law student and member of the Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic at Yale Law School. He said that in the early 1990s, Congress -- with bipartisan support -- passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. That law, he said, would shield the church for its actions.

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.

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