Woman goes to church to duck deportation

[deadparrot]

CHICAGO - Immigration activists around the country are taking up the cause of a single mother who invoked the medieval principle of sanctuary and took refuge in a Chicago church rather than submit to deportation to Mexico.

Elvira Arellano, 31, was holed up for a second day Wednesday at Aldalberto United Methodist Church with the support of the congregation's pastor. With her was her 7-year-old son, Saul, an American citizen.

Federal officials said there is no right to sanctuary in a church under U.S. law and nothing to prevent them from arresting her. But they would not say exactly what they planned to do, or when.

The protest raised the spectacle of agents barging into a church and dragging her out.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060816/ap_on_re_us/immigration_activist_deportation

[rzemanfl]

1. Now this is dern silly an a waste of taxpayin' 'Mercan's money

how can ya deport ducks fer Chrissakes. The buggers migrate every year, just wait, they'll be gone agin fer ya know it. We been shootin' at the fuckers for generations but they just keeps comin' an a goin' ignorin' our borders.

[Whoa_Nelly]

2. Am with you...Get those ducks outta here!

And if I ever get to change my S/N here on DU, I have dibs on Ducks Removed!!

[Megahurtz]

3. Guess I shoulda done that in Canada.

:think:

:sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm::sarcasm:

[951-Riverside]

4. If Clinton was president they could drag her out of there...

Like they did with Elian Gonzalez.

[pinerow]

7. You are comparing apples to oranges...Elian was being held

against the wishes of his father...this case has nothing in common with Elian Gonzalez...get a grip...I hope the public will rally to support this woman.

[dysfunctional press]

14. i can't support this woman.

she is in this country illegally, and deserves to be deported.
and BOTH of my Democratic senators from illinois agree that immigration laws shouldn't be ignored just to accommodate one person.

[Gman]

5. There doesn't have to be code about sanctuary

Sanctuary is as ancient as the church itself. It is an inherent right under common law.

[bmbmd]

6. Was her name

Esmerelda?

[roguevalley]

8. isn't the rule of sanctuary about 40 days?

[Gman]

13. I think you're right, or real close

[Ian David]

9. Next time a cop wants to give me a speeding ticket... n/t

[VegasWolf]

10. I didn't know churches deported ducks. nt

[Seeking Serenity]

11. I posted this in another thread on the same subject.

While I certainly support this woman and her desire to want to stay here with her US citizen son, I'm not sure how I feel about a church being used to evade an otherwise legitimate law.

1) If I support this woman's use of a church to avoid being deported according to law, then, in order to be logically consistent with the principle, then I would have to support, say, sanctuary in a fundie church for an anti-choicer who was wanted for violating the FACE act, which I would have a hard time doing (and, I dare say, so would most everyone else here).

2) I'm a strong supporter of the wall of separation between church and state. I don't think the government should be a respecter of religion by allowing someone to use a church (or synagogue or a mosque) as a way of evading the consequences of an otherwise legitimate law as if the church building is somehow is more special in the government's eyes than any other building. I know that if it were an anti-choicer appealing for sanctuary, I would be screaming about separation of church and state.

So I guess I cannot support this woman's action (and the government's for failing to do its duty). Sometimes it sucks trying to be principled. :-(

[Sherman A1]

12. Well said

I am sorry for her circumstances, but she violated the law in coming to this country illegally (twice as I heard on the news yesterday). Sorry about the child and all, but where is the being a responsible parent and adult in this equation?