Published March 14. 2021 10:29PM
AMHERST, Mass. (AP) A Guatemalan man has left the Massachusetts church he lived in for more than three years to avoid deportation after being granted a reprieve from federal immigration officials.
Lucio Perez stepped of the First Congregational Church in Amherst on Saturday. The Rev. Margaret Sawyer, of the Pioneer Valley Workers Center, a local group that s been supporting Perez, said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement recently stayed his deportation.
The organization said Perez was denied a deportation stay under President Donald Trump s administration and ordered to leave the country. It said he entered the country illegally in 1999 at the age of 17 and eventually settled in Springfield, Mass., with his wife and family in 2008.
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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS. Happy Monday!
BAKER S POPULARITY SAGS It looks like Gov. Charlie Baker s approval rating took a hit during the coronavirus pandemic.
The rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine at the beginning of the year, in particular, hurt the governor s standing among residents. An
online survey from three universities Harvard, Northeastern and Rutgers showed Baker s approval rating for how he handled the pandemic dropped by 21 percentage points. Baker s
approval rating was at about 80 percent in April of last year, and by this February had gradually declined to 59 percent.
That tracks with a UMass Amherst poll
1 month ago in Local Photo: WHMP
AMHERST, Mass. (AP) – A Guatemalan man has left Massachusetts church he lived in for more than three years to avoid deportation after being granted a reprieve from federal immigration officials. Lucio Perez stepped out of the First Congregational Church in Amherst on Saturday after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement recently stayed his deportation. Perez was among more than 70 immigrants nationwide who took sanctuary in churches during President Donald Trump’s administration. He and his family were joined outside the church by Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern and other local elected officials.
(Holyoke, MA) State lawmakers today will hear about a $400-million dollar request to build a new Holyoke Soldiers Home. A virtual hearing by a joint committee will be held today at 10:30. John Paradis of the Holyoke Soldiers Home Coalition says members will be there to push for immediate passage of the Baker Admi
Supporters celebrate Lucio Perez leaving sanctuary after 3½ years
Lucio Perez waves to the crowd with his family gathered behind him in front of First Church Amherst in celebration of the end to his sanctuary on Saturday, March 13. STAFF PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS
Dora Perez talks to the crowd in front of First Church Amherst in celebration of the end to her husband Lucio Perez s sanctuary on Saturday, March 13. STAFF PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS
Lucio Perez gives hugs to members of the crowd gathered in front of First Church Amherst in celebration of the end to his sanctuary on Saturday, March 13. STAFF PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS
A Guatemalan man has left the Massachusetts church he lived in for more than three years to avoid deportation after being granted a reprieve from federal immigration officials.