Sandra Lopez, who’s in sanctuary in Carbondale with her young daughter, hasn’t stepped outside in four months. The two are living in the parsonage belonging to the Two Rivers Unitarian Universalist Congregation. Lopez will remain there for however long, feeling she has no choice.
Each week, she has a yoga class and, twice a week, an English lesson. Distractions like these are welcome, seeing that she’s basically under house arrest. Sanctuary is tedious and boring, and the most distressing part is not knowing when it’ll end.
“When you enter sanctuary, you know the date, the hour, the minute,” Lopez said. “But you don’t know when you’re going to leave. It could be months, it could be years.”
If it is years, is Lopez ready? Is the congregation ready? Rev. Shawna Foster, the minister of Two Rivers Unitarian Universalist, thinks so, but she hopes it won’t be that long. Foster lives at the parsonage with her family; opening their home to Lopez, she said, was a no-brainer.
“If Sandra is deported, that’s three children without a mom. Is that really what you want? Is that your sense of justice? Is that what the laws are for?”
The risks for the congregation, however, have been harder to discern. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) knows exactly where Lopez is, as Foster told them. The agency has a policy of not raiding what they call “sensitive places,” like churches and schools, but what if ICE comes after Foster and sends her to jail, leaving her kids without a parent?
“That’s what happens to people who are deported every day!” Foster said. “Every day in this country, there are kids left without parents! And how could I just say, ‘Well, no, I can’t take that risk’ when I see it’s happening here in this very community?”
In addition to taking her in, the congregation has raised $10,000 for Lopez’s legal expenses, which she can no longer afford because she doesn’t work. They’ve also set up another fund to help her family in Silt, who now has one fewer income-earner.
Lopez’s oldest son, Alex, had been in college, studying to become a mechanic. Without his mom’s help, he couldn’t afford the tuition, so he dropped out and is now looking for a job. He said it’s going to take a while to finish his education.
His main concern, however, is his mom, and while he’s proud she’s brought attention to the plight of undocumented people, he would rather have his mom back.
“I just want it to stop. I just want it to stop,” he said.
Lopez’s attorneys have asked the government to reopen her case, but that could take years. Of course, she’s grateful to be in sanctuary, but it’s not where she belongs, she said.
Still, remaining behind these walls is worth it. She talks to her husband on FaceTime each night, gets to see her sons when they visit and always has her daughter by her side.
