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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Honduran woman who has been taking sanctuary with her two daughters in a Utah church for the past six months is vowing to keep fighting for asylum.
Vicky Chavez told reporters Monday night that she hopes to be a voice for other women who are victims of domestic violence. She fled Honduras four years ago out of fear of an abusive boyfriend.
Immigration judges have repeatedly denied her asylum request. In a long-shot effort, she's seeking relief from a federal appeals court.
Chavez and her daughters, 6-year-old Yaretzi and 11-month-old Issabella, never step outside the First Unitarian Church in Salt Lake City. She's afraid U.S. immigration officials will send them back to Honduras.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Carl Rusnok says Chavez is an immigration fugitive who has been ordered to leave and has exhausted her appeals.
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