Rosa Gutiérrez Lopez moved to the United States 13 years ago and had three American-born children.
She recently checked in with immigration officials and was ordered to return to her home country of El Salvador. She bought a ticket but, fearing for her safety, opted to take refuge in a church in Bethesda, Maryland.
On Monday, Lopez moved in to Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church in Bethesda, Maryland. She and a network of congregations that support immigrants say she’ll stay at the church indefinitely.
Lopez, 40, will be visited by her children, who are 11, 9 and 6. Her youngest child has Down syndrome.
