HARTFORD – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) released the following statement on Wednesday after an immigration court granted Norwalk resident Nury Chavarria a stay of deportation and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agreed to end removal efforts. The stay allows Chavarria to remain in the country while the court considers new evidence in her case. ICE had planned to deport Chavarria to Guatemala last week. Murphy sent a letter to ICE urging discretion in her case and called ICE to urge delay of any deportation proceeding. Murphy, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (CT-3) visited Chavarria in New Haven last week at the church where she was taking sanctuary.

Chavarria is a single mother with four children, ages 21, 18, 15, and 9, who are all U.S. citizens. Chavarria is the primary caretaker of her children and also works fulltime as a housekeeper.  

“We can all breathe a small sigh of relief for the Chavarria family,” said Murphy. “I'm glad ICE finally listened to our calls for justice for Nury, and I'm grateful for all the community support she received. But this is just a temporary victory, and only when President Trump's mean-spirited policy of tearing apart parents from their young children ends will meaningful justice be achieved. My staff and I will keep pushing ICE to make sure Nury can stay here at home in Connecticut pending Congress passing comprehensive immigration reform.”

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