PRESS RELEASE AUGUST 2009
Press contacts: Rev. José S. Landaverde (773) 968-4258
Juan Perez (773) 467-6732
Harassment by City Inspectors to
Our Lady of Guadalupe Anglican Catholic Church
On August 19, 2009 two city inspectors Antonio Torres and another unidentified inspector came to the Mission at approximately 2:00pm claiming they received complaints about the mission selling food.
Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission does not sell food. Our church has a food pantry that gives away non perishable goods. We also feed families who have been divided by ICE raids. It worries us that the same day that Our Lady of Guadalupe’s Pastor Rev. Jose Landaverde meets with the City to discuss the permit to peacefully assemble at the Federal Plaza on September 07, 2009. City Inspectors arrive at our mission to allege we were breaking the law and would need to speak with our local alderman.
It is of great concern that the City sends inspectors the same week we applied for a permit. The inspectors came to ask Rev. Landaverde for his personal information, and questioning if we were indeed a church. Our Church is well known in Chicago and the Nation for the work we do with the immigrant community.
Harassment is not new to our community when we speak for the human rights of a marginalized sector of our community. We have seen similar patterns in the past year’s weeks before our community prepares to peacefully march and demand legalization for over 12 million immigrants.
We DEMAND for the City of Chicago to stop their harassment of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church IMMEDIATELY. We will not be intimidated.
For more information please contact Rev. Jose Landaverde or Juan Perez.