Rosa Robles Loreto in her room at the Southside Presbyterian Church 9 months after entering sanctuary.Listen:
When Rosa Robles Loreto entered sanctuary, her sons were starting school in August. Now they’re ending the academic year, and she’s still living at the Southside Presbyterian Church.
She moved in to avoid deportation after Immigration and Customs Enforcement gave her an order of removal. She has not left church grounds in nine months.
"The most difficult times are the weekends when my sons and husband go back home to their daily lives after spending time here," Robles Loreto said.
Federal officials have said they will not actively seek to deport Robles Loreto, but they have denied her requests to close her case.
She can leave the church at any point but risks having her deportation order surface after something as simple as a traffic stop in Arizona, "so I'm going to stay here until my case is closed."
When President Barack Obama outlined his executive action on immigration in November, he directed the Department of Homeland Security to focus on deporting felons.
Earlier this month, U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva joined 40 other members of Congress in asking the department why it wasn't following the order and instead was continuing to deport immigrants who were not criminals or otherwise threatening.
Because Robles Loreto's case is low priority her, deportation order should have been dropped by now, her lawyer, Margo Cowan, has said.
Robles Loreto said she plans to have her sons and husband stay with her at the church during the summer break.
In a separate case, Daniel Neyoy Ruiz was given sanctuary at the church in May 2014. After spending a month there, he was granted a one-year stay in the country. Other cases nationwide popped up last year.
"Every case is different, and I think I'm the one that's been in sanctuary the longest," Robles Loreto said. "I still feel blessed to have all the support I have and to continue fighting."
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