North Carolina shrine Jose Chicas leaves church



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The chicas took refuge in June 2017 inside the Conversion School, a small house on the grounds of a Baptist church in Durham, North Carolina. At the time, he was facing a deportation order after years of registration with the ICE.

Chicas says he never expected to spend so long at the shrine.

“I had no idea what I was getting myself into,” he told CNN this week in a phone interview as he was packing his bags and getting ready to leave. “I thought it would be three or four months.”

But the months turned into years.

Her family live nearby in Raleigh and visit her whenever they can. And from his confines on the grounds of St. John’s Baptist Missionary Church, Chicas – a pastor himself – continued to serve his flock through live Facebook videos and occasional in-person meetings.

In his sermons, he often preached on the power of redemption. The drug and alcohol use put him on a dangerous path, he says – a path that led to a conviction for DUI and domestic violence and ultimately to a deportation order. Since 2002 Chicas has said he is a changed man.

And he said this week he was grateful that the policies of the Biden administration gave him another chance. He can’t wait to spend more time with his family – visiting parks and beaches and going out for ice cream.

“It’s going to be a nice change,” he said.

A new administrative policy from Biden went into effect Friday, blocking most deportations for 100 days, as officials review policies and ensure “a fair and effective immigration control system focused on protecting national security , border security and public security, “according to a Ministry of the Interior. Security press release. It’s unclear what will happen after the 100-day window ends, but Chicas says he’s convinced the new president “has a different heart from the government that just left” and will find a solution to it. help him and millions of other undocumented immigrants. .
It is not clear if other immigrants who have taken refuge in churches are leaving. Growing numbers of undocumented immigrants sought protection in churches during Trump as the government stepped up its crackdown on illegal immigration. An ICE policy prevents the agency from arresting anyone in “sensitive places” – schools, hospitals or places of worship – except in extenuating circumstances.
2018: They thought living in churches would protect them.  Now they fear that nowhere is safe

In 2018, around 50 people lived in a sanctuary inside churches across the country, according to Church World Service. Organization officials did not immediately respond to a request from CNN for updated data.

Chicas said he spent many days in a shrine feeling forgotten, isolated and full of angst about the future.

But there were also some brighter moments.

“I have met so many people.… I have come to realize that there are hundreds and hundreds of Americans who are kindhearted and love immigrants,” he said. “I saw it with my own eyes.”

CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez contributed to this report.

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