People in sanctuary press Biden for change Lucio Perez greets friends after arriving back into the First Congregational Church of Amherst, after a stay in Cooley Dickinson Hospital for a medical emergency in May 2018. GAZETTE FILE PHOTO Irida Kakhtiranova makes a blueberry pie Wednesday, May 9, 2018 in the kitchen of the Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence. She is a Russian immigrant facing deportation and was given sanctuary at USNF on April 6, 2018. She is the wife of a U.S. citizen and the mother of three American-born children. GAZETTE FILE PHOTO Published: 1/26/2021 4:36:20 PM After close to three years living in sanctuary to prevent her deportation, a woman provided refuge in a Northampton church is calling on President Joe Biden to adopt policies that will ensure that she and others can remain in the United States.