Pastor: Illegal Immigrant Who Sought Sanctuary in Chicago Church Deported

Monday , August 20, 2007

LOS ANGELES —

An immigration activist who took refuge in a Chicago church for a year to avoid being separated from her son has been deported to Mexico, the church's pastor said.

Elvira Arellano was arrested Sunday afternoon outside Our Lady Queen of Angels church in Los Angeles. She was deported several hours later, said the Rev. Walter Coleman, pastor of Adalberto United Methodist Church in Chicago, where Arellano had taken refuge.

"She has been deported. She is free and in Tijuana," said Coleman, who said he spoke to her on the phone. "She is in good spirits. She is ready to continue the struggle against the separation of families from the other side of the border."

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Chicago confirmed the arrest Sunday. Spokeswoman Gail Montenegro said the agency would have further details on the deportation Monday.

Arellano, 32, became a symbol of the struggles of illegal immigrant parents when she took refuge in the church to avoid being separated from her 8-year-old son, a U.S. citizen.

She had said Saturday she was not afraid of being taken into custody by immigration agents.

"From the time I took sanctuary the possibility has existed that they arrest me in the place and time they want," she said in Spanish. "I only have two choices. I either go to my country, Mexico, or stay and keep fighting. I decided to stay and fight."

Arellano came to Washington state illegally in 1997. She was deported to Mexico shortly after, but returned and moved to Illinois in 2000, taking a job cleaning planes at O'Hare International Airport.

She was arrested in 2002 at O'Hare and convicted of working under a false Social Security number. She was to surrender to authorities last year.

She sought refuge at the storefront church on Chicago's West Side on Aug. 15, 2006. She had not left the church property until she decided to travel by car to Los Angeles, Coleman said.

Coleman said Arellano, who is staying with a friend in Tijuana, had brought to light her struggle, and for that, "she has won a victory."

"She'll be organizing on the Mexican side of the border while we're organizing in the [United] States," Coleman said Monday. "She'll be talking to organizations throughout Mexico and congressmen in Mexico City."

Coleman said he and other activists will continue Arellano's original plan to go to Washington, D.C. and take part in a prayer meeting and rally for immigration reform at the Capitol on Sept. 12.

Immigration activists responded with anger to her arrest, and promised protests and vigils to support her.

"We are sad, but at the same time we are angry," said Javier Rodriguez, a Chicago immigration activist who worked with Arellano. "How dare they arrest this woman?"

Anti-illegal immigrant groups said the arrest was long overdue.

"Just because the woman has gone public and made an issue of the fact that she is defying law doesn't mean the government doesn't have to do its job," said Ira Mehlman, of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which favors limits on immigration.

Arellano has repeatedly called for a stop to immigration raids that break up families with some members who are in the U.S. legally and others illegally.

Emma Lozano, Coleman's wife and head of immigration rights group Centro Sin Fronteras in Chicago, said she was Saul's legal guardian. At an afternoon news conference in Los Angeles, the boy hid behind Lozano and wiped away tears.

"He's taking it better than we thought he would," Lozano said.

While being arrested, Arellano spoke briefly with her son before submitting to authorities, Lozano said.

"She calmed him down, hugged him and gave him a blessing," said Lozano.

Do you know what I say to this? I say GOOD! While I think that it is disconsolate that this woman and her son are being forcefully separated, I think that it is good that the Federal government is actually doing its job for once.

Looking at this situation, I have to ask whose fault it is that this woman came here illegally and gave birth to a child so that it could be a United States citizen? The simple fact of the matter here is that we live in a country that has laws regarding immigration. For that matter, EVERY country has immigration laws. Ours just happen to be among the most liberal. This woman first came to the U.S. illegally in 1997, which was 2 years before her son was born, so it isn’t as if she didn’t know. She was deported for it at that time, so why should now be any different? Let’s also not forget the fact that she worked for a time under a falsified Social Security number, which is also a crime under our laws. Instead of taking responsibility for breaking the laws of our country, she sought refuge from a church. Great! So, if I decide to commit identity theft, can I gain refuse from a church and avoid jail time simply because I have a child? See, that’s what these people are asking us to do. They are asking us to ignore our laws and ignore their breaking of them simply because they have a child.

If I go to Mexico without going through the proper channels and obtain a job under false pretenses, I get deported. If I go to Canada and try the same thing, I get deported. The difference between those countries and ours is that my child would be sent with me. So, why should immigrants of illegal status here be treated any differently? Is it because we allegedly “have it better” in the United States than people in Mexico? I don’t think so. The reason I don’t think so is because the people of Mexico have the same abilities that we do. The last time I checked, Mexico was a democracy. So the people there have the ability to change their country from within to make it better. Not just that, but they also have the ability to ask for help from other nations who are capable of doing so. If I am suffering financially, it is my obligation to ask for help. It is not the obligation of those around me to offer it, nor would it be appropriate for me to hold a grudge against them for not doing so. What this woman is doing is the equivalent of me filing a lawsuit against my neighbor for not offering me a meal when I was hungry, even though I never asked. Granted, we as Americans should show compassion for those less fortunate. However, when people take advantage of that compassion by circumventing our standards and our laws, I do not feel as if we owe them anything. Hell, according to what I just read in the article, the woman has been here, off and on, for at least 9 years yet she still does not speak enough English in order to grant an interview! What that tells me is that she has no real desire to become a part of our society. She does not want to adapt to our culture. Instead, she wants the rest of us to adapt to her culture and what she thinks is right. She wants us to give to her, but she does not want to reciprocate.

What I find to be most irritating is that what I just stated above will be interpreted as racist or xenophobic by some. What I said can not be seen as racist or xenophobic by anyone with a rational mind. I do not have any issue with immigrants. I do not have any issue with Hispanics. In fact, I actually encourage immigration. As long as it is legal. Immigration is a large part of what America is. As a matter of fact, it is precisely what America is. Unless you are 100% Native American, your ancestors emigrated here. So, I say that the accusations of racism and xenophobia are simply used as a way to instill a feeling of guilt in those who oppose illegal immigration. My apologies for their folly, but that horse doesn’t jump with me. I merely ask that people who want to come to the United States for a better life do so legally, and that they learn to speak English when they do come. I wouldn’t even consider going to another, non-English speaking country, expecting the citizens of that country to capitulate to my demand that they speak my language. That is why English-to-whateverlanguageyouwant dictionaries are manufactured. That is why foreign language course are offered in schools. Some of those classes are even taught for free at community centers and churches, so there is no legitimate reason for the lack of conversational English skills.

It is the responsibility of the guest to learn the ways of the host. At least that is how I was raised. The host should make certain concessions for the needs of their guest, but not to the point of sacrificing the host’s own way of life for the guest. Let’s say that I have a guest in my home for a week. I have a child living with me (which I do). If my guest is a swinger with numerous sex partners, should I not have the ability to ask that they refrain from their sexual practices while my child is in my home? Should my guest be an occasional recreational drug user, should I not have the ability to ask that they refrain from this activity while in the presence of my child? What I am attempting to point out is that, when people come here to the United States, they are effectively entering the “home” of every United States citizen and asking them to change their way of living for them.