An illegal Honduran immigrant spent three years inside a Missouri church to escape deportation – and can now get a new Democrat to live in the country thanks to congressmen.
Alex Garcia, a married father of five who crossed the border illegally in 2004, sought asylum at the United Church of Christ in Maplewood after being denied a one-year sentence from exile in 2017.
“I remember spending time with my family outside the church walls,” Garcia told Fox 5 News. “It has become difficult for me to watch my children grow up and learn without me.”
Garcia, who is married to an American citizen, was granted two temporary waivers from immigration officials dating back to 2015 – but her most recent bid was denied.
On Monday, US Rep. Corey Bush introduced legislation that would allow Garcia to avoid being sent back to Central America.
The bill, a type of law known as a “private bill”, is designed to provide assistance to individuals who have abolished other legal measures – often in immigration cases – to Garcia in the country Will allow to remain, Bush said.
“It won’t be an easy fight, but it has never stopped us before and it won’t stop us today,” Bush said. “We stand with Alex and we will not rest until he is free and protected from the most inhuman elements of our country’s immigration system.”
This is not the first time Garcia has received a helping hand from the Capitol – Bush’s predecessor William Lacey Clay sought a similar bill to help him but he did not pass.
Leave a Reply