Gov. Dannel Malloy has rallied behind a Norwalk mother who was supposed to be deported to Guatemala on Thursday. Malloy and one of Nury Chavarria’s four U.S.-born children spoke out Thursday night against immigration policies that break up families.
Governor Malloy held 9-year-old Hayley Chavarria’s hand as they left the red-brick church where her mother has sought sanctuary from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Malloy says that Nury Chavarria has no criminal record. He says that means she does not deserve to be deported under President Trump’s immigration policy to only get rid of so-called “bad guys.”
“You haven’t seen me do this in every case…and I’m here to say this individual case is wrong. But I am also very committed that the American people are lied to about what their government is doing. And if everything I’ve learned so far about this particular case bears up, then we are being lied to about this case and apparently other cases as well…This case by all appearances stands in stark contrast to what everyone’s been told, that every news outlet has reported to the American people, that has appeared on your TV screens.”
Malloy said Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly told the National Governors Association last week that ICE was deporting people with criminal records.
Chavarria had broken civil law by staying in the U.S. after her asylum case was denied. Her daughter, Hayley, had a message for President Trump.
“Don’t separate my family. My mother, Nury Chavarria, is someone I love more than anyone in the world. She is not a criminal, she has a positive attitude about everything. I want her to stay because I love her so much.”
Hayley’s mom had been checking in yearly with Immigration and Customs Enforcement since 2011. Her deportation had been stayed under Obama administration policies to keep family members with different immigration status together.
ICE won’t take action against Chavarria while she’s at a safe place like a church or a hospital.