NEW HAVEN -- Norwalk mother who sought refuge in a church, filed two motions where an emergency stay was granted.
Nury Chavarria has been staying inside the Iglesia de Dios Pentecostal Church in New Haven, where she has received sanctuary since last Thursday. That was the day she was supposed to depart the United States on a flight from Newark, NJ to her native Guatemala.
A source familiar with Chavarria's case says if she had complied with a federal immigration judge's deportation order back in 1998, she likely would have been able to gain legal re-admittance to the U.S. Instead, she is considered a fugitive.
Chavarria, now a mother of four, said that two decades ago, when she was ordered to depart the country, she couldn't do it because of her young son.
"He needed services," she said. Now 21, her oldest child battles cerebral palsy. "He started walking when he was four years old," The mother of two boys and two girls said.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement had granted her one your extensions to stay in the U.S. for seven straight years, until last month. And she's confused why there was a change.
Governor Dannel Malloy and Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman released the following statements in response to the decision by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and a court granting Chavarria an emergency stay:
Governor Malloy said, “Today, reason and compassion have prevailed. There was never a rational justification for Nury Chavarria to have been threatened with deportation and separated from her children, and I applaud this decision by ICE and the court to allow her to continue living and working in the United States with her family. Members of the community had their voices heard, and I am glad that we could work with federal and local officials and advocates to achieve this outcome. Immigrants are vital to the fabric of our nation. Rather than focusing on those living peacefully within our borders, our attention should be on those who do harm to others.”
Lt. Governor Wyman said, “I commend ICE and the federal court on this decision. For years, Ms. Chavarria has abided by the requirements set forth by immigration officials in order to stay in this country, raise her children, go to work, and support her family. I’m grateful to the many advocates and the church community that took a brave stand to protect her, to fight for her, and to call attention to a situation that, if allowed to proceed unchecked, would not have furthered our national security interests. I hope Ms. Chavarria and her family are able to move past this traumatic situation and get back to their lives.”
FOX61 was told that Chavarria will be able to stay in the states until a judge can figure out her case in its entirety.