Jamaican couple, who hid in church for 2.5 years, can finally walk free in US
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With fists raised in victory, Oneita and Clive Thompson were feeling jubilant as they came out of the Tabernacle United Church in Philadelphia, US.
The couple can finally stay in the United States after spending two and a half years in churches to avoid deportation.
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"We won," Oneita Thompson, 48, told supporters who were present outside the church, as quoted by the New York Times.
Also read | US election 2020: Joe Biden calls Donald Trump's immigration policies 'criminal'
The victory was by no means easy for the couple, but Oneita said that she was hopeful that someday this day would arrive.
After living for 14 years legally in the US and bringing up seven children, in 2018 Oneita was informed by the immigration authority that she and her husband had to leave the country.
The couple arrived in the US in 2004 seeking asylum over gang violence in their native country Jamaica.
Each year, Thompsons application was denied, but they used to get a one-year extension to stay.
However, things changed dramatically when Donald Trump became the President of the United States in 2016.
The policies of Trump, who during his presidential election campaign, vowed of acting tough on immigration, meant that the Jamaican couple would now have to leave the US.
Oneita came in touch with Peter Pedemonti, co-director of the New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia, who suggested that refuge in a church is the only viable option.
For decades, families have stayed in churches to avoid deportation and buy time to urge immigration authorities to allow them to stay.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has designated churches as "sensitive locations" and by and large don't interfere with shelters here.
In August 2018, the couple shifted into First United Methodist Church of Germantown with their two children.
After spending two years in the church, the Thompsons moved to Tabernacle United Church in September.
After a long struggle, help came via their eldest daughter's way.
On Dec 10, Oneita was got to know that since her daughter is a US citizen, she can submit a petition for an "alien relative".
She immediately printed the email.
"I had to physically look at it, touch it," Oneita said.
"I literally felt numb.
