PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A Mexican mother of four walked out of a Germantown church Wednesday, finally free of the fear of deportation. She had been claiming sanctuary in Philadelphia churches for three long years.
Carmela Apolonia Hernández walked out of the Germantown Menonite Church Wednesday morning- with her four children, Fidel, Keyri, Yoselin and Edwin, to greetings from a a small posse of supporters.
"Carmela libre!" they cried out.
She was free.
"No lo creo," she told the small socially distanced crowd: I don't believe it.
She says it was hard to believe that, after living in constant fear of imprisonment, deportation or separation from her kids, this part of the fight is over.
“Carmela is the face of a bigger community that have been struggling to be able to have humanity and dignity,” said Blanca Pacheco, co-director of New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia.
The organization partnered with churches, advocacy groups, political leaders and others to support the family of five.
Hernandez fled Mexico in 2015 after three relatives were killed by a drug cartel. Hernandez applied for asylum but was denied. While pursuing other legal remedies, including a U-Visa, seeking nonimmigrant status as a victim of crime, deportation became eminent.
She made the tough choice to go into sanctuary, a kind of self-imposed prison. Hernandez moved into the Church of the Advocate in North Philadelphia on Dec. 13, 2017.
Her journey to freedom took twists and turns. She sent her kids to school, fearing every day that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents would pick them up. But Hernandez persisted, knowing that her kids needed an education and to stay in the United States, where it is safe.
“You’re free,” City Councilmember Helen Gym told the family. “This is what a sanctuary city looks like.”
Gym walked to school with the children when they made the decision to go to school.
Over the course of three years, living in two churches, the family celebrated birthdays and holidays, battled COVID-19, and more, relying on the suppot of volunteers and the generosity of others.
“It’s been a long journey,” said David Bennion, Hernandez’s attorney and executive director of Free Migration Project.
He says he secured a letter from the local ICE office saying that Homeland Security had changed the priority for deportations. Hernandez and her kids are no longer under an imminent deportation order.
"But Carmela is keeping her eye on the ball. She wants permanent status," Bennion said. "She knows that the rules can change again, even under a democratic administration."