A 33-year-old mother can stay with her two sons in Denver, Colorado thanks to the Unitarian Universalist Church’s effort. After a 2010 conviction for possession of falsified or stolen identification papers, Ingrid Latorre got a deportation order.
The group that first offered Latorre sanctuary, Mountain View Friends Meeting, claims she did not know her documents were stolen and believed she got misled into a guilty plea. Latorre, whose family is from Denver, first took sanctuary in a Fort Collins church.
After the Colorado Church offered to help, she was able to move and see her children every day now. In a press conference, she revealed the distance was especially hard-hitting on her oldest son who is of 9-years-old.
Colorado’s governor denied to give her a pardon, and her conviction failed to get overturned, but she remains hopeful she will be able to stay in America. The Unitarian Universalist church opened its doors to immigrants seeking sanctuary in October of this year.
Although most supported this decision, it caused a preschool leasing space from the church to shut down after over half the parents withdrew their toddlers. They were worried their children would be near immigrants.
“[Offering sanctuary] is a key part of our religious exercise,” Reverent Kelly Dignan told the Daily Camera in a recent interview. “When sanctuary is offered, there is no intent to hide a person’s whereabouts. We are open and honest with the authorities regarding our activities and intentions and the fact that we feel we are performing our religious duty.”
“Our immigration system is a hot mess. We need to fix that. And if this can help [Latorre] personally then that’s a good thing,” Congregation member Steve Todd added. “If this can bring about some community awareness and help inform public opinion about comprehensive immigration reform, then that is also a good thing.”
This article was inspired by The Denver Post // Ingrid Encalada Latorre, still facing deportation, seeks sanctuary in Boulder church