Legal Activists of Color: Activist refuses deportation, takes refuge in church

Activist refuses deportation, takes refuge in church

By Oscar Avila
Tribune staff reporter
Published August 15, 2006, 12:38 PM CDT

A prominent activist for illegal immigrants in Chicago today defied a government order that she turn herself in to the Department of Homeland Security for deportation and instead sought sanctuary in a West Side church.

Saying she would not be returned to Mexico, Elvira Arellano - an illegal immigrant - and her 7-year-old young son went to Adalberto United Methodist Church, 2716 W. Division St.

"If Homeland Security chooses to send agents to a holy place, I would know that God wants me to serve as an example of the hatred and hypocrisy of the current administration," Arellano said.

Arellano had been ordered to report by 9 a.m. today to Homeland Security's Loop offices. Instead, she showed up, suitcase in hand and her son in tow, at the storefront church in the city's Humboldt Park neighborhood.

"I'm here, and I'm staying here," the woman said in Spanish to WGN-Ch. 9. "I'm not going to leave like a coward. Nor will I leave as a criminal. I'm going to stay here to await the decision that God has placed before me."

Mother and child are staying in a second-floor apartment above the church, WGN reported. She is the president of United Latino Family, a group that lobbies for families that could be split by deportation.

Tim Counts, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said today that Arellano would be considered a fugitive if she did not surrender to authorities.

"We will take action at the time of our choosing to execute the deportation order," Counts said after learning of Arellano's decision.

The 31-year-old single mother was arrested in 2002 during an immigration sweep at O'Hare International Airport. At the time, coming shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the U.S. government was working to secure the nation's aviation system.

But through the intervention of members of the state's congressional delegation including U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, Arellano received several temporary stays of deportation to remain with her young son, a U.S. citizen.

In the meantime, she spoke openly about her own experiences and became a poster child for the state's estimated 400,000 illegal immigrants, winning the support of church leaders and other immigrant advocates. She also took her case to Mexico President Vicente Fox and the General Assembly in Springfield.

Last month, though, Arellano received a letter from Homeland Security demanding that she turn herself in for deportation at the department's offices at 10 W. Jackson Blvd. She was unsuccessful in getting renewed support from Congress. Homeland Security officials noted that Arellano had already been deported once, in 1997, and that she had a criminal conviction for Social Security fraud.

The department released a statement last week, stressing that it must "enforce the nation's immigration laws and ensure that they are applied fairly, without regard for a person's ability to generate public support. Ms. Arellano willfully violated U.S. immigration laws and is now facing the consequences of her actions."

Durbin and Gutierrez said today there was nothing more they could do for Arellano, WGN reported.

"It is an unfortunate truth that scores of people are in the same situation as Elvira and her family," Durbin said in a prepared statement. "We cannot fix the injustices of this system with private bills. Only comprehensive immigration reform can permanently remedy this situation."