LA church housing immigrant activist

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 19 (UPI) -- Los Angeles' Our Lady Queen of Angels Church is giving refuge to illegal immigrant Elvira Arellano so she can maintain her activism for new immigration laws.

While Arellano previously had sought sanctuary from the law in a Chicago church, she recently relocated to Los Angeles to speak at a rally aimed at garnering new federal immigration laws, the Chicago Tribune reported Sunday.

But rather than attend the Saturday rally, the 32-year-old moved into the Los Angeles church and held a series of news conferences.

During one of those media sessions, Arellano spoke about what made her publicly voice her opinion despite her illegal status in the United States.

"I couldn't just stay there with my arms folded and watch all this affecting our families," she said of the current political climate regarding immigration in the United States.

Arellano said she had plans to meet with other illegal immigrants Sunday to discuss the controversial topic and confirmed she would be in Washington Sept. 12 to take part in a National Mall vigil, the Tribune reported.