Salvadoran dad weeps in relief on leaving B.C. church after two years in sanctuary
Source: Canadian Press
Salvadoran dad weeps in relief on leaving B.C. church after two years in sanctuary
LANGLEY, B.C. — The Canadian Press
Published Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2015 7:21PM EST
Last updated Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2015 7:26PM EST
An asylum seeker from El Salvador made an emotional exit from the protection of a Langley, B.C., church on Wednesday, two years after seeking sanctuary to avoid deportation.
The family and supporters of Jose Figueroa cheered and wept with the man as he stepped through the doors of Walnut Grove Lutheran Church without fear of arrest.
Figueroa, who turned 49 on Wednesday, was granted an exemption to stay in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds this week by Immigration Minister John McCallum, paving the way for his permanent residency.
Figueroa says his first plan is to pay a surprise visit to Rodney Watson, a former American soldier in Iraq who took sanctuary in a Vancouver church six years ago after fleeing a second deployment as a war resister.
Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/salvadoran-dad-weeps-in-relief-on-leaving-bc-church-after-two-years-in-sanctuary/article27935381/
