The son of an Anglican bishop sits in a jail in Ohio facing deportation, after fleeing his home country in fear of his life, Episcopal News Service reports.
Josue Alvarado Guerra, the son of Bishop David Alvarado of the Diocese of El Salvador, had been “threatened, kidnapped and persecuted by one of the largest gangs operating in the country,” his father told ENS. El Salvador in recent years has had the highest homicide rate of any nation in the world.
After spending several years as an undocumented worker in various parts of the United States, Alvarado Guerra was detained in Ohio in November when police intervened after he got a flat tire. On January 8, his petition for asylum was denied. He will be deported unless the decision is overturned on appeal.
In 2017, TLC published an article describing Bishop Alvarado’s ongoing efforts to “encourage a ‘culture of peace’ and harmonious coexistence, while also fortifying values of child and family welfare,” working with ecumenical partners in the country.
The Diocese of El Salvador is one of five national dioceses in the Iglesia Anglicana de la Region Central de America (IARCA), which previously was part of Province IX of the Episcopal Church. In 1997, IARCA became an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion.
Read Josue Alvarado Guerra’s story at ENS.
