Thread: 2nd Elvira Arellano

Chicago church offers sanctuary to 2nd illegal immigrant
Friend of previous refugee, Arellano, may defy law and seek shelter there
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January 28, 2008
The tiny storefront church that sheltered Elvira Arellano in yearlong defiance of a federal deportation order is poised to give sanctuary to another undocumented immigrant facing deportation, church leaders said Sunday.

Flor Crisostomo, 28, said she is slated to surrender to federal immigration authorities Monday, an order that followed her 2006 arrest during a nationwide raid of the IFCO Systems pallet company that netted 26 illegal immigrant workers in Chicago.

On Sunday, the factory worker turned community activist retreated to pray and consider her options at Adalberto United Methodist Church in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood. She intends to formally announce her decision Monday, but Crisostomo and church leaders said she plans to follow Arellano's lead and seek sanctuary within church grounds.

"It is very difficult to make this decision. Whatever it is, it will be worthwhile. ... It's not just to benefit me, it's to benefit the community," Crisostomo said in an interview inside the church.

The move raises the possibility of a second standoff with federal authorities that supporters hope will revive talk of federal immigration reforms. With the defeat of a comprehensive reform bill last year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement stepped up enforcement and raids. Immigration also emerged as a flash point in the presidential campaign.

"You've really got people in a squeeze here," said Rev. Walter Coleman, pastor of the church. "There is nothing going on that is going to work. All it does is keep people in the shadows."

Meanwhile, proponents of stricter enforcement of the nation's laws said Crisostomo's sanctuary may embolden activists on both sides of the heated debate, as did Arellano's.

"It's old hat. To me, it's just another situation where she can make demands but nothing is going to happen in terms of legislation," said Dave Gorak, executive director of the Midwest Coalition to Reduce Immigration.

Crisostomo stepped into the public light shortly after her arrest nearly two years ago. With her legal case pending, Crisostomo had no benefit in hiding and no risk of deportation until the legal process unfolded. She helped organize marches, fasted with Arellano on hunger strikes and offered her own experience as an example of the need for changes to the nation's immigration laws.

The mother of three left Guerrero, one of Mexico's poorest states, after a family grocery stand faltered and money for milk and food ran short. She traveled across the Arizona border twice before successfully entering the country. She arrived in Chicago in 2001.

Armed with a fake ID, Crisostomo found work loading pallets at IFCO. She said she saved enough money to send $300 weekly back to her two sons and daughter, who live with her mother. Crisostomo is unmarried.

Federal authorities declined to comment on the specifics of Crisostomo's case. Her attorney planned to provide officials with a letter Monday indicating Crisostomo's decision to remain in the United States illegally, an act she described as civil disobedience.

U.S. Immigration spokeswoman Gail Montenegro said: "[Our] officers are sworn to enforce the nation's immigration laws and will do so at appropriate times and places."

Arellano and her U.S.-born son, Saul, sought refuge in the church in August 2006. They shared a room in an apartment above the church, where Arellano remained for 12 months. Federal authorities arrested Arellano in Los Angeles and swiftly deported her to Mexico after she slipped out of the Chicago church to spearhead a nationwide campaign for reform.


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... &cset=true

BTTT

According to various hispanic news resources, Flor Crisostomo has three kids living in MEXICO!

This new illegal alien Elvira wanna-be has less of an argument to demand amnesty. Elvira had an anchor baby. This Woman does not!!!!

Elvira had an anchor baby. This Woman does not!!!

Give her some time, she will.

She IS intent on getting an anchor baby and it's UP to US to STOP her!

I would love if someone could ask McClown if he would deport Flor Crisostomo, since she does not have an anchor baby and does not have a relative fighting in Irak.

Didn't the last one leave the church pregnant? Maybe the congregation should keep a closer eye on the pastor?

This girl has some nerve doing this, and saying her family is broken up?? Good lord, she was the one to do it. She crossed that border illegally, she took on fake ID and she now expects amnesty. She'll be lucky she ONLY get's deported!!

What does our society think, if a woman had three kids, get into all sorts of trouble with the law, under the guise of feeding her kids, and then, in court, after being caught, she pleads to not get any time, and demands the judge let her go stating her family will be "broken up" if she had to go to jail? No, not a single judge would treat one of our citizens who had been outside of the laws, with kids gloves , simply because she (or he) has children. Not even our society as a whole would think this is right, to let go people who have committed crimes, not even for the kids sake, so WHY is it being done with illegals who make all the same kinds of bad choices, and then think they can boohoo their way out of it due to their "outstanding" (yeah right!!) family values?