Opening the mailbox can be a drag. For some, the disappointment comes in the form of bills with anxiety-inducing due dates inching ever more near. But for Carly Garcia and her husband, Alex, opening the mailbox one August afternoon was the same as opening a gateway to hell.
Inside lay a letter that would change their lives, along with the lives of their five children forever. It was a call-in order for Alex's deportation to Honduras.
"It was very devastating to read that and know my life, our lives, were about to change," Carly said. "He's my best friend. Not only is it devastating for me, but for our kids."
Alex Garcia is an illegal immigrant who has been living in Poplar Bluff for 13 years. He has a social security number, a work visa, a job and a family. Alex and Carly have two children of their own, a boy and girl, and three boys, one hers, two his, from previous relationships.
"He pays taxes," Carly said. "He is an asset to our community, not a burden. He isn't here wreaking havoc. He works and makes Poplar Bluff a better place."
But for the last four months, the husband and father has been living in a St. Louis church offering him sanctuary while he and his family hope for a miracle.
"They're wanting to deport him back to Honduras," Carly said. "Honduras is not a safe country. It's not safe at all and if he goes back, we'll never be able to see him. Ever."
Back in 2000, then 19-year-old Alex was apprehended attempting to cross into the United States. A deportation order was granted and he was sent back to Honduras. Five years later, Alex tried again and was successful.
For 10 years, he stayed under the radar of immigration officials. When he and Carly were married in 2010, they contacted his immigration attorney in St. Louis because they wanted to make sure they were doing things "the right way," Carly explained.
"You'll see couples who get married just so one of them can stay here," she said. "That's not what this is. He is the love of my life and we wanted to make sure that was known."
After completing the necessary paperwork, the attorney told the couple there was nothing more to do unless Alex was detained. And then, in 2015, he was detained.
Carly said it happened when Alex took his sister and nephew, who had come here under refugee status, to their regular check-in at the immigration office in Kansas City, Mo. Upon arrival, Alex's identification was scanned, linking him to a 15-year-old deportation order that was still active and "an old DUI (driving under the influence) from more than 10 years ago," Carly said.
"They told his sister they were free to go," Carly said. "They didn't speak English, didn't know how to drive, and were all the way in Kansas City. They called my dad and he came to my work and we left and headed straight there."
Carly said if Alex had entered the country legally the second time, the deportation order would have been removed.
"I know he shouldn't have come here illegally," she said. "I'm in no way denying that. But what people don't know is the type of environment he was running from. Since then, he's tried to do things the right way and he's a very good man."
Carly said Alex was detained for two weeks before his lawyer, who is with the Migrant and Immigrant Community Action Project, successfully applied for a one-year stay of removal, twice. But in 2017, the same signature appeared on the denial letter that had appeared twice before on letters of approval.
"Nothing on his record has changed, but under the new administration, he's been denied," Carly said.
Carly said after Alex's lawyer was able to get a one-month extension on his deportation, from August to September, they met with a representative from St. Louis Inter-Faith Committee on Latin America (IFCLA), a social justice agency that works with Latin Americans. The agency told the Garcias' there are locations deemed by the government to be sensitive locations, including churches, schools and hospitals.
The agency was able to find Christ Church United Church of Christ in Maplewood, Mo., which agreed to be a sanctuary for the 36-year-old. It is currently the only sanctuary housing an illegal immigrant in the state of Missouri, and according to a report issued this week by Church World Service, an international agency working with refugees and immigrants, Alex is currently one of 36 illegal immigrants living in a place of worship in the United States.
Carly said she wants people to understand that Alex is not hiding. She said he is simply being protected while his lawyer reapplies for a stay of removal. However, he is choosing to remain on the church's property to avoid the likelihood of coming into contact with deportation officials. During the last four months, Carly said she and the kids have traveled to St. Louis every weekend to visit with Alex.
She said life has been hard without his emotional support. She instantly became a single parent with three children in the home and without Alex's income from his job at her father's construction company, making ends meet has been nearly impossible.
Carly said when she met Alex in 2007, she was a single mother receiving government assistance. She said it was a great feeling when the couple married three years later and she told the Department of Family Services that she no longer needed its help. But now, Carly said working 40 hours a week at a local healthcare facility doesn't provide enough money for her growing family.
"I had to apply for food stamps again," she said. "I never thought I would have to go back there. It is a horrible feeling to be back in this position."
Carly said after two months, her application for food stamps was approved, but that it's still not enough.
She said the support of the community has been outstanding. Carly said people have sent money to help feed and clothe the children, and to help with any bills or travel expenses the family may face. Carly said she does not know when, or if, her husband will be able to come home.
"I just want people to know Alex doesn't deserve this," she said. "He is a good man. He's not causing havoc, or living off the government. He deserves to see his children grow up and be part of our family. I don't even know how much plane tickets to Honduras cost, but it would be too much."
Carly said at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, she is hosting an informative banquet in the empty storefront next to Buffalo Wild Wings and hopes the community will attend.
She said the event will have food, courtesy of donations from local businesses, and Sara John, from IFCLA, Alex's immigration attorney, Nicole Cortez, and the pastor from Christ Church United Church of Christ will be in attendance. T-shirts will be available to purchase and the funds will benefit living expenses for Carly and the children.