Colorado Governor Pardons Immigrant Mother Who Sought Sanctuary

LexisNexis Immigration Law Newsroom reports on a very nice holoiday gift.  On December 23, Colorado Governor Jared Polis issued an executive order pardoning Ingrid LaTorre, a noncitizen from Peru who has lived in sanctuary to avoid deportation.

As reported by CNN, Ingrid Latorre sought sanctuary inside churches in the Denver area. After a felony conviction in 2010, she lived in fear of being deported back to Peru and being separated from her two young children, who were born in the United States (and thus are U.S. citizens). 

In pardoning Latorre, Governor Polis stated that “Since your conviction, you completed your probation and paid restitution and taxes. . . . You are a dedicated and caring mother to your three children. You are working to educate others on legal ways to obtain employment and the consequences of using false documents.”

At age 17, Latorre came to Denver in 2000. Two years later, she bought false documents with another person’s Social Security number that allowed her to work at an assisted-living center.  In 2010, Latorre was arrested.  At the advice of her lawyer, she pleaded guilty to a felony charge of criminal impersonation and was able to avoid jail time. She says she paid back the $12,000 in taxes that she owed.

Fearing possible deportation from the United States,  Latorre in December 2016 claimed sanctuary at Mountain View Friends Meeting House.

KJ