After more than three years, a Springfield, Massachusetts, man who faced deportation and found sanctuary in a church has reunited with his family.
In front of a crowd of about 100 well-wishers, with his family surrounding him, Lucio Perez stood on the steps of the First Congregational Church in Amherst and was introduced by the Rev. Vicki Kemper.
“It is my honor and my deep joy to present to you the man we have all come to know and love over the past 3 1/2 years,” Kemper said.
The church had been home to Perez since October 2017, when – at 35 years old – he defied a federal deportation order to Guatemala.
Churches have become safe havens from deportation. Immigration officials have said, for the most part, they won't try to arrest people in “sensitive locations,” including churches.
Perez left the church briefly in May 2018 for emergency appendix surgery.
Last week, according to his lawyer, the Department of Homeland Security granted Perez a stay of removal, which protects him from being immediately deported.
Perez's appeal of his deportation order is pending in immigration court.
During the ceremony Saturday, which was attended by local officials including U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, Perez had a message for other immigrants in similar situations.
“I want to say to my friends who are still in the sanctuary, who are still living and waiting for freedom, that their day will come and then we will find freedom for everyone who's been in sanctuary,” Perez said, according to an interpreter. “I feel very strongly about helping and being there for all of those people who are still in sanctuary.”
Perez thanked the network of people who have been helping him, his wife and children.
Alden Bourne contributed to this report.
