In Carbondale, Colorado, immigrant rights activists joining nationwide Women’s Marches on Saturday will rally to the defense of Sandra Lopez, an undocumented immigrant and mother of three who’s taken sanctuary with a local church to avoid being deported to Mexico. Lopez is a leader with the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition. She has fought removal proceedings since she was arrested in 2010 after, she says, one of her children mistakenly dialed 911. Charges in the case were dropped, but she’s faced the prospect of deportation ever since. This is Sanda Lopez, speaking recently with Democracy Now! from inside the parsonage of a Unitarian church where she’s taken sanctuary with her 2-year-old daughter.

Sandra Lopez: “We need to be organized. We need to leave behind the fear and the shadows, and continue raising our voices. There’s the quote that 'divided, we fall.' We’re going to stay strong and united. And we’re going to continue defending our dignity and defending sanctuary.”