this was in North Carolina in response to Samuel Oliver-Bruno being baited by ICE into leaving his sanctuary church. Samuel was taken from Raleigh to George to Texas and has now been confirmed as deported. His wife is medically ill and his son still lives in NC. Here is a link to how to support Samuel and his family: https://www.sanctuaryatcitywell.org/help
I know some people who go to this church and basically what happen was that Samuel has been in sanctuary for a year. He was there because his wife was receiving medical treatment and he was the sole support. He has lived in North Caroline for over 20 years. In 2011, he moved back to Mexico to be near his family until 2014 when his wife became ill and they returned to the US. He was granted a work permit and driver’s license. In nov, 2017, he was informed that his permit would not be renewed and he was to be deported, which was when he took sanctuary in City Well church. Sanctuary means you cannot leave the church building (except under extreme circumstances like a fire or other emergency). He applied for a Deferred Action of deportation with the USCIS. He was told there would be a hearing for this at the USCIS office on Nov 23, 2018. He arrived at the office along with the pastor of City Well and several church members, who conducted a worship service on site to prove that Samuel never left sanctuary. When the hearing was supposed to begin, ICE agent in regular civilian clothing forcibly arrested him for immediate deportation, which is when the events outlined in the article above occurred.
The point is this: THE DEFERRED ACTION HEARING WAS A TRAP, set by ICE and the USCIS, specifically to arrest this man who had been living in protective sanctuary for over a year.
