RALEIGH, N.C. -- Juana Ortega came to the United States in the 1990s seeking political asylum from Guatemala, but for the past few years she's been living in a Greensboro church under sanctuary. Her story is the focus of a film that looks at the ways immigration enforcement practices are harming families beyond the crisis at the border.

For nearly a decade, said Stefania Arteaga, statewide immigrants' rights organizer for the ACLU of North Carolina, Ortega checked in with ICE each year and received a stay of deportation. But in 2017, she was suddenly told she had 30 days to leave the country or she'd be deported.

"If you look at immigration policy, since the '80s on forward, we're seeing an increase in enforcement and detention centers," Arteaga said, "however, seeing more limitations put into place for people to be able to adjust their status."

Arteaga said non-criminal deportation cases like this one have skyrocketed under the Trump administration. Rather than leave her four children, Ortega decided to use a loophole in ICE policy that prevents the agency from arresting residents of churches, hospitals, schools and other locations deemed sensitive.

The documentary "Santuario" is free online Thursday June 18th as part of a virtual film series, "Stories Beyond Borders." It's hosted by Working Films and Women AdvaNCe.

Arteaga said taking sanctuary often means living in a perpetual limbo. It's a legally complex landscape and cases can be drawn out for years. She said the nation is long overdue for an immigration law overhaul.

"People who are in sanctuary are people who are doing their very best to stay in this country," she said, "and are just waiting for some sort of discretion that is utilized to help them stabilize their case."

Ortega's daughter, Lesvi Molina, said living in sanctuary has taken its toll on the entire family, but especially on her mother's physical and mental health. She said it also has led to financial hardship for her mother, who worked as a seamstress for decades.

"It's hard because the whole situation has cut her income in half, because she is not able to work," Molina said. "She's been here for what, 27 years? She's always worked."

Molina said her mother's status remains unchanged, and she believes only a new administration will bring hope for a return to her life and family without fear of deportation.

Access to the event can be found online at eventbrite.com, and more information about the film is at santuariofilm.com.


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Protests are planned this Saturday throughout Arizona as organizers mobilize a "nationwide day of defiance" against what they're calling the Trump administration's attacks on civil rights, working families, public education and health care. The "No Kings" protests follow a week of immigration sweeps throughout the country, including in Arizona, that have sparked public outrage against President Donald Trump's mass deportation agenda and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This week, the president said people can expect additional ICE raids and warned protestors they can expect to be met with "equal or greater force."

But Leah Greenberg, co-executive director of the advocacy organization Indivisible, said there is power in collective action.

"This is coming at a moment when they are illegally sending troops into Los Angeles, intentionally attempting to escalate in order to justify broader crackdowns on dissent that makes it that so much more important for all of us collectively to be in solidarity with our immigrants friends and neighbors, with basic American values," she explained.

The widespread movement will run counter to Trump's projected multi-million-dollar birthday military parade happening in Washington, D.C., on Saturday. More than 100 pro-democracy groups are backing the nationwide No Kings events. To find where protests are happening visit no-kings-dot-org.

Greenberg argued that the Trump administration is actively attempting to chill dissent and create consequences for those who speak out, and claimed the administration is trying to create a false sense of inevitability.

"Their power, fundamentally, is dependent on all of us actually agreeing, actually obeying. If we collectively organize, if we collectively expose that lie for what it is - then we are are going to be in a completely different position and they are not going to be able to get away with the things they are trying to do," she continued.

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, reminded people the power of the United States' government is derived from those it represents.

"Not from one man, not from one party, not from a crown," she contended. "That is what was the most important focus of the framers. That is why they shed lots of blood, sweat and tears to actually create this country, the first 13 colonies."

Immigrant rights groups have said they are considering legal action to restore a Texas law allowing in-state tuition rates for undocumented college students.

The move comes after the Department of Justice sued Texas and within hours, state officials complied without a fight. According to the U.S. attorney general, federal law prohibits schools from providing benefits to undocumented students not provided to U.S. citizens.

Kelly Cobb, partner and business immigration attorney at the Jackson Walker Law Firm in Houston, said the law had been on the books since 2001.

"They get the same residence requirement as someone that was born here," Cobb pointed out. "I think it's more of a policy argument. These were children brought here and why should they be penalized and have to pay higher tuition?"

Texas was the first state to enact such a law to help young adults without legal status. Conservative legislators have tried to repeal the law for years. Cobb noted if an appeal is filed, a judge could allow the law to remain in effect through the appeals process.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton took partial credit for the legislation being overturned. The lawsuit was filed just days after the end of the legislative session, where a bill to repeal the law stalled after passing out of a Senate committee. According to the American Immigration Council, the state will lose an estimated $460 million a year in wages if the ban remains in effect.

"It's going to have a financial impact on the universities," Cobb explained. "Also, they're going to college so they are going to come out professionals with degrees, who should be earning more. So, they will make money; they will make jobs."

The move is part of the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration. Currently, 24 states allow undocumented students to pay in-state tuition.

In response to increasing federal threats to immigrant communities, including cuts to food assistance and deportations, a coalition of more than 100 community organizations is urging Oregon's lawmakers to pass the 2025 Immigrant Justice Package.

It includes five bills which would provide Oregon's immigrant families access to things like food and housing assistance, disaster relief and legal representation.

Martha Sonato, president of the Oregon Worker Relief Coalition, said the legislation will benefit all Oregonians.

"What community has put forward is a package of very impactful, cost saving investments," Sonato explained. "These are all basic rights that really help families stay together and succeed."

Opponents to some of the measures argued it is unfair to ask legal residents to fund benefits for people in the country illegally. Supporters, however, countered undocumented Oregonians contribute more than $350 million annually in state and local taxes, making them deserving of the benefits.

From the package, Sonato highlighted a bill to create a Farmworker Disaster Relief Fund. She noted Oregon farmworkers, more than 60% of whom are immigrants, face lost wages due to extreme weather like heat waves and wildfires.

"Farmworker Disaster Relief would really help make sure that farmworkers are able to take care of themselves and their families, just like they're taking care of all of us," Sonato emphasized.

Another bill in the package, Food for All Oregonians, would provide food benefits to all children in the state, regardless of their immigration status. The measures also seek funding to renew a legal aid program for immigrants, which Sonato argued is crucial in today's climate.

"This policy ensures that folks have due process by providing legal representation to immigrants that are seeking to adjust their status and facing deportation," Sonato added.

Sonato stressed investments in immigrant communities now will save the state money in emergency food, housing, and medical resources down the road.


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