Minerva Garcia (right) spends time outside the Congregational United Church of Christ in Greensboro, NC with her youngest son, Mateo, on Sept. 30, 2017. She is at risk of deportation if she leaves the church, but she is able to spend a couple minutes outside every other day under the watchful eye of a church volunteer.

The Congregational United Church of Christ in Greensboro, NC holds Sunday worship on Sept. 24, 2017. The church recently decided to open up a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants. Minerva Garcia and her two sons, Mateo and Antonio, are the first to seek refuge in the church.

Minerva looks out the window in her Winston-Salem home on the morning of Dec. 2, 2017. “I am afraid of what’s going to happen to me in the future,” Garcia said. “Nothing is certain.”

Minerva (left) prepares for a TV interview in her home on Nov. 15, 2017 before a scheduled meeting with ICE in Charlotte, NC the next day. Minerva’s story has gotten a lot of local media coverage since she was in the church.

On Oct. 2, 2017, a federal immigration judge in Texas removed the deportation order that was placed on Minerva, which effectively ended her five-month stay at the sanctuary in the Congregational United Church of Christ in Greensboro, NC.

Minerva hugs Mateo at the dining table during dinner on Sept. 30, 2017 in the Congregational United Church of Christ in Greensboro, NC. Minerva, a widow, raises her two youngest sons as a single mother in the church. Her eldest son, Eduardo, is blind and lives alone in Minerva’s home in Winston-Salem, NC.

Minerva buys milk from a Family Dollar in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Oct. 31, 2017. As an undocumented immigrant, she is ineligible for any financial aid from the government, such as food stamps. “One time I went to the office to get food stamps, but the man asked me how I had the nerve to ask for food stamps when I am not a citizen,” Garcia said. “He then got up and walked out of the office.”

Minerva puts a sock under the ankle bracelet she received from ICE to avoid chafing. She was forced to wear the ankle bracelet after her meeting with ICE officials on Nov. 15, 2017. It tracks her location and makes sure she doesn’t leave the three states she is allowed to be in: North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. “I’m just really happy to be free,” Garcia said. “I’m kind of disappointed as well because I wasn’t expecting to get something like that (the monitoring device on her ankle). I’m not going anywhere.”

Minerva’s sister, Felipa Cisnero Garcia (left), jokes around with Mateo on Dec. 1, 2017. Felipa, an electrician, is the only other family member that Minerva has in the United States.

Minerva washes the dishes in her Winston-Salem home on Nov. 16, 2017. As a single mother living with her three sons, she has a hard time keeping up with the chores around the house.

Minerva (left) and Antonio (center) get a ride outside of her home to a meeting with ICE in Charlotte, NC on Nov. 16, 2017 from Kim Porter (right), a social activist who has been working with Minerva since the beginning of her case. As an undocumented immigrant, Minerva is unable to get a driver's license, so she must rely on others for transportation.

Minerva addresses the media before her meeting with ICE on Nov.16, 2017 in Charlotte, NC. “I really don’t know what’s going to happen in there,” Garcia said. “I’m scared."