'I hope my story can be a vessel of hope for anyone out there who is questioning their dreams,' said Clive Thompson Jr., who lived in South Jersey while his parents were in sanctuary in Philadelphia.
By Jeff Gammage
The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS
PHILADELPHIA - Clive and Oneita Thompson half-stepped, half-danced from the stone steps of a Philadelphia church Monday morning, ending more than two years in sanctuary and walking - free from the threat of deportation - into a cheering community of friends, clergy and supporters.
Smiling and pumping their fists, the undocumented Jamaican couple were met by applause, whistles, bells, tambourines, and noisemakers at a socially distanced celebration outside the Tabernacle United Church in University City.
Oneita’s voice caught Monday as she described their time inside church walls, never knowing whether government-ordered removal would separate her and her husband from their seven children, all of whom are citizens or live legally in the United States.
An undocumented immigrant couple on Monday left the basement of a Philadelphia church two-and-a-half years after going into hiding, following the news their deportation case had been dropped. Oneita and Clive Thompson, who emerged from the basement of the Tabernacle United Church on Monday, say they left Jamaica 15 years ago to flee gang violence.
They were forced to hide out for 843 days with two of their seven children after losing their asylum case in August 2018 and being told they would be deported under Trump s immigration crackdown, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
ICE agents are stopped from taking action in houses of worship, hospitals, and schools.