CLINTONVILLE, OHIO (WBNS/CNN) - A mother in Ohio spent her entire Christmas inside a church. It’s the same church where she’s been living for months, fighting a deportation order.
“I don’t want to be deported, because I have my family here,” said Edith Espinal, 40.
Unable to live outside the walls of the Clintonville Mennonite Church for fear of being deported, Espinal wants the government to understand how important it is for her to live on U.S. soil.
“I’m thinking I am not a bad person. I’m a good mother for my kids, and I’m fighting for my kids,” she said. “I would do anything for my family because they made me strong.”
She said her family's strength has allowed her to stay with her husband and children for so long. But Espinal’s daughter, Stephanie, said knowing her mother could be deported at any time leaves her in constant fear.
“In the mornings, I would get ready for school and always give my mom a kiss goodbye, and each time I go out I feel like I’ll get that one call or that message saying that ICE came in here and took her,” Stephanie Espinal said. “That’s my fear.”
The legal decision to live in the church was a way to keep Edith Espinal out of the hands of immigration officials, who have said they won’t enter a house of worship. Her husband, Manuel, said it’s hard to see his wife so unhappy.
“It’s very difficult to see what she’s going through because she’s really the pillar of our family,” he said.
For the three months and 28 days that Edith has been living at the church, the government has been watching her electronically. An ankle monitor vibrates at various times of the day, telling her to call immigration officials so they can keep tabs on her.
In the meantime, she and her legal team hope that her 21-year-old son, who is a U.S. citizen, can petition for his mother’s legal residence. Until then, her husband of 20 years said there’s no talk of deportation.
“We plan to fight to the end,” he said.
Edith Espinal said she is leaving the decision to a higher power.
“I have a strong faith in God that I will stay with my family,” she said.
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