More than a dozen people were on their feet Wednesday, welcoming Rosa Gutiérrez into the sanctuary of Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church. “Our primary role and obligation is to Rosa,” explained senior minister at Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church, Rev. Abhi Janamanchi.
Gutiérrez escaped her native El Salvador in 2005. She says she received threats of violence from a group of people, and fled for the United States. “I came because I fear for my life,” said Gutiérrez.
She began a new life in Fredericksburg, Virginia with her three American-born children, and found work in a restaurant. She says she checked in monthly with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement while seeking political asylum, but in 2017, they required her to wear an ankle monitor and eventually ordered her to return home, closing her case.
