Man Seeks Freedom After Living in Church for Three Years

Man Seeks Freedom After Living in Church for Three Years

American lawmaker Cori Bush is seeking permanent residency for a Honduran immigrant who has lived for three years in a church, a Christian¹ religious building.

Bush is a new member of the United States House of Representatives. This week, she proposed a private bill that would permit Alex Garcia to safely leave the Christ Church United Church of Christ in Missouri. In 2017, the church gave Garcia refuge so the government could not enforce his expulsion for illegally entering the U.S.

Garcia sneaked² into the country in 2004 and has remained since then, finding work and building a family. He is hopeful that the bill will be a "pathway for freedom," he said.

"I miss spending time with my family outside of the church walls," he said. "It has been hard for me watching my babies grow and learn without me."

Garcia is among many immigrants in the United States who took refuge from expulsion during Donald Trump³'s term as president. Many have said they are hopeful they can gain citizenship⁴ under new President Joe Biden.

In his first weeks in office, Biden signed several orders that undo⁵ some Trump administration policies on immigration. Several Republican Party lawmakers are seeking to block the new orders.

Garcia fled extreme poverty and violence in Honduras, his supporters say. He and his wife Carly Garcia, a U.S. citizen, have lived in the small Missouri town of Poplar Bluff⁶ for more than 10 years.

In 2015, immigration officials ordered Garcia's expulsion. He received two one-year suspensions of the order under former president Barack Obama.

But after Trump took office in 2017, Garcia was again ordered to be expelled. He then found refuge at the church in Maplewood.

Pastor⁷ Becky Turner said Garcia quickly became a valued part of the church membership.

"I have watched as he set up beds for the unhoused on cold winter nights," Turner said. "I have watched as he would take care of our church members who needed something fixed⁸ or built or found. Alex the guest quickly became Alex the host."

She added, "The country needs more people like Alex."

A private bill is one that targets a single individual. These bills are rare and usually sought as a last effort. Immigration is a common issue of private bills.

Cori Bush said only four private bills have been signed into law since 2007.

"This will not be an easy fight, but that's 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 inhumane element of our country's immigration system."

The lawmaker that Bush replaced in January also sought passage of a private bill for Garcia. But that bill failed to pass.

Words in This Story

host – n. a person who receives or entertains guests

residency – n. legal permission to live in a place

1 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 sneaked   

v.潜行( sneak的过去式和过去分词 )；偷偷溜走；（儿童向成人）打小报告；告状

参考例句：

• I sneaked up the stairs. 我蹑手蹑脚地上了楼。
• She sneaked a surreptitious glance at her watch. 她偷偷看了一眼手表。

3 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

4 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

5 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。

6 bluff   

v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗

参考例句：

• His threats are merely bluff.他的威胁仅仅是虚张声势。
• John is a deep card.No one can bluff him easily.约翰是个机灵鬼。谁也不容易欺骗他。

7 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

8 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。