Peruvian Who Took Sanctuary In Church Celebrates Stay Of Removal
DENVER (CBS4) - Ingrid Encalada Latorre gets to go home after months of seeking sanctuary in a Denver church.
"I'm very excited; I'm really happy," Latorre said.
Immigration officials have granted a stay of removal for the Peruvian mother of two American children.
"I'm so full of emotion because I'll finally get to be with my family again," Latorre said.
She moved into Mountain View Friends Meeting, a Quaker congregation, to avoid deportation in November.
"It's going to be a change to get back to my normal routine, and to do the things I used to do with my children," Latorre said.
The stay allows her to attend a July court hearing to determine whether she was misadvised by her attorney when she pleaded guilty to felony identity theft in 2010.
She was under the impression that pleading guilty would not affect her immigration status.
She says she didn't know the immigration papers she bought were stolen.
"The next two months I'm going to be really focused on my court case, but also on engaging Congress people on these issues, and raising a national conversation about the immigration policies we have," Latorre said.
Her supporters believe legal troubles have been a barrier on her path to citizenship.
"We really do this work not only to keep Ingrid family together, but to ask our elected officials to do their job, and to tackle these complicated, but solvable, issues," said Jennifer Piper with the American Friends Service Committee, who has been helping Latorre navigate proceedings.
While her journey is far from over, Ingrid says she's looking forward to the comforts of home.
"(I plan to) watch TV on my sofa, and enjoy my family," Latorre said.
Latorre hopes her felony conviction will be downgraded to a misdemeanor in July, giving her a better chance to become a U.S. citizen.
Andrea Flores is a reporter for CBS4. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter @AndreaFloresTV.