Man exits church after years in sanctuary from deportation

MAPLEWOOD, MO. >> After 3 1/2 years living inside a Missouri church to avoid deportation, Honduran immigrant Alex Garcia finally stepped outside Wednesday, following a promise from President Joe Biden’s administration to let him be.

Garcia, a married father of five, was slated for removal from the U. S. in 2017, the first year of President Donald Trump’s administration. Days before he would have been deported, Christ Church United Church of Christ in the St. Louis suburb of Maplewood offered sanctuary.

Sara John of the St. Louis Inter-Faith Committee on Latin America said Garcia’s decision to leave the church came after Immigration and Customs Enforcement declared that he was no longer a deportation priority and that the agency would not pursue his detention or removal.

Garcia, braced by a hand on his shoulder from a son and fighting back tears, told a cheering crowd of about 100 people that he was separated from living with his family for 1,252 days.

“Hi everyone,” Garcia said. “Thank you everyone for showing support for me and my family. Today is the day I’m going to get out of sanctuary after three years and a half.”

“We are not done yet,” Garcia said, reading from a written statement. “There is still so much work that has to be done,” he added, nothing that he will be fighting for “permanent protection.

In his first weeks as president, Biden has signed several executive orders on immigration issues that undo his predecessor’s policies.