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Western Mass. Church Offers Sanctuary To Guatemalan Man Facing Immediate Deportation

Lucio Perez, center, in a red jacket, is surrounded by local clergy in front of the First Congregational Church in Amherst, Massachusetts.
Jill Kaufman
/
NEPR
Lucio Perez, center, in a red jacket, is surrounded by local clergy in front of the First Congregational Church in Amherst, Massachusetts.

A church in Amherst, Massachusetts, is allowing a Guatemalan man facing deportation to live in the building for the foreseeable future.

Lucio Perez, 35, was ordered by immigration officials to leave the country by Thursday. Perez and his wife have three children who were born in the U.S.

On Thursday afternoon, Perez stood outside the church, still on its property, surrounded by local clergy.

"Estoy aquí para, para enfrentar cualquier situación, y, si, si ustedes, este, pués me ayudan ahorario, sé que todos juntos, vamos a, a ver la victoria, lo que Dios nos va dar," Perez said.

"I'm here to confront the situation. I hope you'll help me pray," a translator said, standing next to him.

The church is right next door to the Amherst police station.

A church official said he expects immigration officials to honor the sanctuary of the building.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has a general policy to not enforce immigration orders at places of worship.

Copyright 2017 New England Public Media

Jill has been reporting, producing features and commentaries, and hosting shows at NEPR since 2005. Before that she spent almost 10 years at WBUR in Boston, five of them producing PRI’s “The Connection” with Christopher Lydon. In the months leading up to the 2000 primary in New Hampshire, Jill hosted NHPR’s daily talk show, and subsequently hosted NPR’s All Things Considered during the South Carolina Primary weekend. Right before coming to NEPR, Jill was an editor at PRI's The World, working with station based reporters on the international stories in their own domestic backyards. Getting people to tell her their stories, she says, never gets old.

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