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Technorati"Hers is one of many stories," she said.
Earlier this summer, President Bush and a group of bipartisan senators had tried to push through Congress an immigration reform bill that would have provided a pathway for illegal immigrants to gain legal status while beefing up border security and enacting penalties for those crossing the border illegally.
Fierce opposition to the bill from conservative Republicans who called the legislation amnesty had derailed the legislation, however, leaving the emotionally-charged immigration problem as a potential key issue during the presidential race and a matter for the next administration to contend with.
The immigration problem has also spurred some churches to act. In May, churches in five big U.S. cities – Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle, Chicago, and New York – announced their intention to protect illegal immigrants from deportation, offering their buildings as sanctuary if need be.
The "New Sanctuary Movement,” as the effort is called, is loosely based on a movement in the 1980s, when churches harbored Central American refugees fleeing wars in their home countries. Organizers of the current movement include members of the Jewish, Muslim, Catholic and other faiths.
While some have called the effort “radical hospitality,” others have called it misguided.
The faith groups "don't seem to realize that they are being charitable with someone else's resources, and that's not charity," said Ira Mehlman of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which favors limits on immigration.
"We are talking about illegal immigrants taking someone else's job, filling up the classroom of someone else's child," he said, according to AP.
And individuals such as Jim Hayes, director of ICE in Los Angeles, are saying "proper perspective" should be placed on the woman's case.
Using a false identity, as in the case of Arellano, who was convicted of using someone else's Social Security number, can be a threat to national security, he said.
"We don't think she's a martyr," Hayes said, according to AP. "She was a criminal fugitive who is in violation of the law."
Despite criticism and Arellano’s deportation, immigration activists said they will continue Arellano's plan to go to Washington, D.C., and take part in a prayer meeting and rally for immigration reform on Sept. 12. They also called for a national boycott on that date.
Christian Post reporter Michelle Vu in Washington contributed to this article.
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