SPRINGFIELD — An immigration judge will soon hear the reopened case of Lucio Perez, the Guatemalan immigrant from Springfield who spent more than three years avoiding deportation by living in sanctuary in an Amherst church.
On Tuesday, the Pioneer Valley Workers Center said that Perez will appear before the Hartford Immigration Court sometime in June. Just this month, his appeal to reopen his case was granted based on the Supreme Court ruling in the case Niz-Chavez v. Garland, which concluded that notices for a deportation hearing need to be contained within a single document.
So, with his case reopened and another hearing, Perez will appear in court next month with his attorney, Glenn Formica.
“I feel calm,” Perez said Wednesday. “I thank God that I have the opportunity to be in front of a judge again.”
Perez, 41, who has been in the United States since 1999, was ordered to leave the country in the summer of 2017 because of a 2009 deportation order resulting from an interaction with police in West Hartford, Connecticut, who charged him with child abandonment when he briefly entered a Dunkin’ Donuts, leaving his children in the car.
Those charges were dropped, and the government granted him five stays of deportation during regular check-ins with immigration agents. But during Perez’s first annual check-in after President Trump’s election, he was ordered to leave the country. Facing deportation and separation from his wife, four children and home, he moved into First Congregational Church of Amherst, where he spent the next three years living to avoid deportation.
During his time in sanctuary, a large group of some 1,500 volunteers supported him and his family in his new, lonely life inside the walls of the church. As many as 14 congregations prepared meals while volunteers drove his family between Springfield and Amherst four times weekly, and others accompanied him in the church every hour of the day.
Having fled violence and insecurity years before, he found himself fleeing family separation. Perez taught Spanish classes to more than 150 students during his time in the church, speaking regularly to faith groups, students and community members about life as an immigrant in the United States.
Perez is back in Springfield now, having left sanctuary in March 2021 after 3½ years there. He is now living in Springfield and working as a landscaper in Connecticut, just as he was before entering sanctuary in October 2017.
As Perez prepared for his court hearing, sanctuary volunteers and supporters have been writing letters of support.
“I’ve had the honor of visiting Lucio Perez in sanctuary on five occasions. He is an excellent father, an inspirational leader, and a truly good person,” U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern said in his statement. “Lucio has developed sincere ties with his neighbors, demonstrated an incredible commitment to local organizations, and given hope to so many with his extraordinary kindness and strong moral compass. I’ve seen firsthand his sense of service which has already made him an invaluable part of our community.”
Those interested in learning about writing a letter can do so at https://bit.ly/Lucioletter.
Asked about all those who have shown support for him, Perez said the feeling has brought happiness to him and his family.
“To have the support of all those people is incredible,” he said. “I always tell my kids, ‘We are not alone.’”
Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.