Day 65 (Tuesday, August 15)

© The Associated Press

Elvira Arellano!

That's a name that I will keep in mind for a long time.
Today I was given a chance to go make photos of Elvira Arellano, who has taken sanctuary at a local church in lieu of turning herself in to Homeland Security for deportation.

© The Associated Press

© The Associated Press

First, I headed to the Homeland Security office, where she was expected to be at 9 a.m. She didn't show up. So then, w/ the help of the Telemundo reporter, I was able to understand what the situation was. I rushed to Adalberto United Methodist Church in Humbolt Park, where Elvira Arellano had taken sanctuary.

© The Associated Press

I got there and started learning more about the story as I didn't have much information from my office. I hung out for most of the day there trying to make some images of the situation. The more I engaged w/ the people at the church, the more I understood the story.

Elian Gonzalez came into mind. That's the little boy that was dragged from a Miami home in the middle of the night because of a huge immigration issue. I thought, this could be my very own Elian Gonzalez story.

Elvira Arellano is taking a stand against immigration and this is the type of story that I want to cover throughout my career. Immigration issues are so important right now that I am very excited to be covering this historical story.

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