Synagogue And Church Unite To Offer Sanctuary To Immigrant Mom
Araceli Velasquez and her family Image by Ric Urrutia
By Nathan Guttman August 23, 2017
A Denver, Colorado synagogue and church are joining forces to help an immigrant from El Salvador who fears her life will be in danger if deported back to her homeland.
Temple Micah and the Park Hill United Methodist Church are holding a joint interfaith prayer service Wednesday welcoming Araceli Velasquez and her family to take sanctuary in the church. Velasquez came to the United States in 2010 seeking asylum because of the violence she encountered in El Salvador. Her request was eventually denied.
While in Denver, she married and had three children, all are American citizens. If deported, Velasquez will be forced to separate from her children and could face threats to her life in El Salvador.
“As Jews we are obligated to create a world that is just, compassionate and peaceful,” said Rabbi Adam Morris of Temple Micah in a press release issued by American Friends of Service Committee which helped organize the sanctuary. “Our current historical moment – in which people like Araceli have their families, safety and well-being devalued or endangered – compels us to act.”
Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected] or on Twitter @nathanguttman
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
