Churches protected dozens of families under Trump Now that they re leaving, is sanctuary over? msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Carmela Apolonio Hernandez and her four children intend to exit the Germantown Mennonite Church, and to live freely, while pursuing a particular visa that would allow them to live and work permanently in the United States.
Maeve in America: A Miracle Worth Repeating
Being granted asylum should not be miraculousâit should be guaranteed.
Photo via Creative Commons
On December 21, Clive and Oneita Thompson, a married couple from Jamaica, walked free after more than two years of taking sanctuary in a Philadelphia church. The federal government had finally dropped its deportation case against them.
In the 2020 fiscal year, only around 3,000 people were granted asylum in the United States, an all-time low, according to the U.S. Department of State.
âWhen we got the letter from [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement], I was just looking at it in shock,â Clive Thompson said in a statement. âItâs a big breakthroughâafter working so long, this is a miracle. I feel like all the stress is drifting away, and everything is lighting up with joy.â
Facing Deportation, They Fled to the Safety of a Church. Now They Are Free.
A Jamaican couple spent nearly two and a half years inside Philadelphia churches, isolated even further by the pandemic. This month, U.S. immigration officials relented.
Clive and Oneita Thompson fled gang violence in Jamaica in 2004 and sought asylum in the United States.Credit.Tyger Williams/The Philadelphia Inquirer, via Associated Press
Dec. 24, 2020
Hand in hand, Oneita and Clive Thompson danced out of the Tabernacle United Church in Philadelphia, their fists raised in victory. The Jamaican couple had spent nearly two and a half years living in churches to avoid deportation.