As the Trump administration ramps up its war on illegal immigration, an undocumented mother from Guatemala has locked herself inside a Manhattan church in a desperate attempt to stay with her family.

Three weeks ago, Aura Hernandez fled under cover of night to The Fourth Universalist Society – a Unitarian church that serves as a sanctuary for those facing deportation. Ms Hernandez, whose two children were both born in the US, plans to stay inside the sanctuary’s stone walls until she is granted permission to remain in the country – or until she is forced out. No one knows how long that will be.

In her room on the top floor of the church, which she shares with her 15-month-old daughter, Camila, her personal belongings are stacked in bins, like a college dorm room. She has a sofa bed and a small living room where she plays with her 10-year-old son, Danny, on the weekends – the only time she gets to see him.

She has a small table where she likes to dine with friends – most of whom are congregation members, because none of her friends from before she moved can visit her now. Sometimes these new friends bring over groceries, and they all cook together. She likes that many of her new friends are from different countries, and teach her their new, exciting cuisines.

A lot of Ms Hernandez’s life is new now: a new home, new friends, a new religion to learn about on Sundays. She says she likes exploring these unfamiliar lifestyles; chatting with the congregation members, meeting their families and eating their foreign food.

But she still cries when she thinks of the life she left at home.

Aura Hernandez with her son Danny who she only gets to see at weekends (AP)

Ms Hernandez came to the US in 2005, at the age of 24, fleeing violence and domestic abuse in her native Guatemala. She was detained by Customs and Border Patrol for three days, but was ultimately released into the US with orders to appear in a Texas courtroom.

Ms Hernandez never showed up. The orders, she said, were written in English. According to an account published in The Nation, she did not even know she was under a deportation order until 2012, when she was pulled over for driving the wrong way down a one way street. By then she had moved to Westchester, a county north of New York City, and was making a living as a housekeeper. She met her husband – a fellow undocumented immigrant – and gave birth to Danny.

After learning of the deportation order, Ms Hernandez worked with an immigration lawyer to apply for a special visa for crime victims. The visa was denied, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) allowed her to stay in the country as long as she attended regular meetings. But last year, when President Donald Trump took office, the meetings became more frequent. At one check-in late last year, ICE agents told her she would have to leave the country altogether.

People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Show all 16 1 /16 People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Demonstrators march during the "Day Without Immigrants" protest in Chicago, Illinois, February 16, 2017. Theopolis Waters/Reuters People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Demonstrators march during the "Day Without Immigrants" protest in Washington, DC, U.S., February 16, 2017. Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. The crowd, which grew to well over a thousand participants, marched from the Austin City Hall to the Texas State Capital. Across the country hundreds of restaurants and eateries are closing for the day to protest President Trump's immigration policies and to highlight the contributions of immigrants to U.S. business and life. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants AUSTIN, TX - FEBRUARY 16: Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Demonstrators march during the "Day Without Immigrants" protest in Chicago, Illinois, February 16, 2017. Theopolis Waters/Reuters People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Demonstrators march during the "Day Without Immigrants" protest in Chicago, Illinois, February 16, 2017. Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. The crowd, which grew to well over a thousand participants, marched from the Austin City Hall to the Texas State Capital. Across the country hundreds of restaurants and eateries are closing for the day to protest President Trump's immigration policies and to highlight the contributions of immigrants to U.S. business and life. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. The crowd, which grew to well over a thousand participants marched from the Austin City Hall to the Texas State Capital. Across the country hundreds of restaurants and eateries are closing for the day to protest President Trump's immigration policies and to highlight the contributions of immigrants to U.S. business and life. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants High school student Kathia Suarez holds up a sign as she protests with others outside the Grayson County courthouse in downtown Sherman, Texas, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017. LM Otero/AP People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants High school senior Vicky Sosa holds a sign outside the Grayson County courthouse in downtown Sherman, Texas, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017. In an action called "A Day Without Immigrants," immigrants across the country are expected to stay home from school, work and close businesses to show how critical they are to the U.S. economy and way of life. LM Otero/AP

The agency confirmed in a statement that the New York field office had ordered Ms Hernandez to leave the country by 30 November 2017, then extended the deadline to 1 March 2018.

“Hernandez did not report as required and is now considered an ICE fugitive,” the agency said.

Through a translator, Ms Hernandez explained to The Independent that she could not imagine moving away from her children. But she also could not imagine taking them back with her to Guatemala. Aside from the violence she has experienced in the country, she knew there were fewer job opportunities, poorer schools and worse health care awaiting her children if they moved.

Her immigration lawyer filed petitions for asylum, but Ms Hernandez knew those would take time to process. She needed somewhere safe to live while she waged the legal battle to stay with her family. That’s when she found The Fourth Universalist Society.

Open door: the church is a temporary home to Ms Hernandez (Emily Shugerman) (Emily Shugerman/The Independent)

The Fourth Universalist Society – a stately, 120-year-old church on Manhattan’s affluent Upper West Side – is a house of worship, a historic landmark, and a sanctuary congregation.

The term “sanctuary congregation” refers to places of worship that offer to shield undocumented immigrants from deportation. Churches, temples and mosques are generally considered safe spaces because ICE classifies them as “sensitive sites” where they avoid making arrests.

Sanctuary congregations have also become more popular under the Trump administration, which has already started to crack down on undocumented immigrants. Shortly after taking office, Mr Trump instructed ICE to focus on all 11 million undocumented immigrants in the US – not just those with criminal convictions. In 2017 he deported double the number of immigrants that his predecessor, Barack Obama, did the year before.

US rescinds DACA program for young immigrants

Reverend Schuyler Vogel, the senior minister of The Fourth Universalist Society, said he first heard about the sanctuary movement from a friend at Faith in New York, a grassroots organisation that organises congregations around social and political issues. Mr Vogel brought the idea to the church board, and then to the congregation. They voted unanimously to become a sanctuary congregation early last year.

After Mr Trump's election, Mr Vogel said, the congregants were “thinking about ways that we could be a force for good in the world, and how we could to respond to what we certainly considered a negative turn of events”.

“[We were thinking about] how to be a community that did something tangible and concrete – that didn’t just sort of talk a good game but actually did something of value and use,” he said.

Ms Hernandez was the first person to take them up on the offer. In fact, at the time Mr Vogel received her request, the congregation had only voted to take in immigrants for up to a few days. Ms Hernandez needed to stay indefintely.

The reverend couldn’t bring the issue to another full congregation vote, because of the urgency and secrecy required. Instead, he took the request to the board president and the director of administration, who surprised him by saying yes.

On the night Ms Hernandez moved in, the church did not even have a bed for her, much less a working shower. But over the intervening weeks, the congregation rallied to build her a home. Even now, volunteers bring her food, do her laundry and bring their children to play with Camila and Danny. Ms Hernandez attends services on Sundays, and her children participate in the church’s religious education classes.

“With Aura, our work in the congregation is to say we are hers, and she is ours,” Mr Vogel said. “And [to say] that we are here to hold her, and support her, and walk with her in love, and make sure that her interests are our interests.”

He added: “We care for her, and hopefully she cares for us.”

Sanctuary: inside the New York church providing shelter to immigrants (Emily Shugerman) (Emily Shugerman/The Independent)

Ms Hernandez says she does care for the congregation members a great deal. She loves going to church service, and chats with congregants for hours. It is overwhelming, she says, to see how many people have come to her aid.

But that doesn’t change the fact she cannot set foot outside the church, and does not know when she ever will. She cannot see her old friends, for fear of her safety and theirs. Many of them have stopped calling and texting, she said. They are afraid they will end up like her.

Despite the support of the congregation, Ms Hernandez says her new home still feels “like a prison”.

What she misses most about her old life are the small, routine things: picking up her kids from school, doing homework with them, visiting the park every afternoon, settling in at home after a long day at work.

Her life in Westchester had taken on the familiar rhythm of middle age: She would cook dinner, her husband would do the dishes. She would wash the laundry, he would fold it. She smiled as she remembered the two of them chasing each other around the apartment, playfully swatting each other with freshly laundered clothes.

Her husband is staying strong, she said, and they are focusing on fighting this battle together. But she knows he still misses seeing his wife and daughter during the week.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 11 August 2020 French Prime Minister Jean Castex is helped by a member of staff to put a protective suit on prior to his visit at the CHU hospital in Montpellier AFP via Getty World news in pictures 10 August 2020 Locals harvest their potatoes as Mount Sinabung spews volcanic ash in Karo, North Sumatra province, Indonesia Antara Foto/Reuters World news in pictures 9 August 2020 Doves fly over the Peace Statue at Nagasaki Peace Park during the memorial ceremony held for the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing EPA World news in pictures 8 August 2020 Anti-government protesters try to remove concrete wall that installed by security forces to prevent protesters reaching the Parliament square, during a protest against the political elites and the government after this week's deadly explosion in Beirut AP World news in pictures 7 August 2020 A protester throws a stone towards Israeli forces in the village of Turmus Aya, north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, following a march by Palestinians against the building of Israeli settlements AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 August 2020 A woman yells as soldiers block a road for French President Emmanuel Macron's visit the Gemmayzeh neighborhood. The area in Beirut suffered extensive damage from the explosion at the seaport AP World news in pictures 5 August 2020 Damage at the site of Tuesday's blast in Beirut's port area, Lebanon Reuters World news in pictures 4 August 2020 A large explosion in the Lebanese capital Beirut. The blast, which rattled entire buildings and broke glass, was felt in several parts of the city AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 August 2020 A general view shows the new road bridge in Genoa, Italy ahead of its official inauguration, after it was rebuilt following its collapse on August 14, 2018 which killed 43 people Reuters World news in pictures 2 August 2020 Empty stall spaces are seen hours before a citywide curfew is introduced in Melbourne, Australia EPA World news in pictures 1 August 2020 People take part in a demonstration by the initiative "Querdenken-711" with the slogan "the end of the pandemic - the day of freedom" to protest against the current measurements to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Berlin, Germany AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 July 2020 Pilgrims circumambulating around the Kaaba, the holiest shrine in the Grand mosque in Mecca. Muslim pilgrims converged today on Saudi Arabia's Mount Arafat for the climax of this year's hajj, the smallest in modern times and a sharp contrast to the massive crowds of previous years Saudi Ministry of Media/AFP World news in pictures 30 July 2020 The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission lifts off at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. The mission is part of the USA's largest moon to Mars exploration. Nasa will attempt to establish a sustained human presence on and around the moon by 2028 through their Artemis programme EPA World news in pictures 29 July 2020 A woman refreshes herself in a outdoor pool in summer temperatures in Ehingen, Germany dpa via AP World news in pictures 28 July 2020 Malaysia's former prime minister Najib Razak speaks to the media after he was found guilty in his corruption trial in Kuala Lumpur AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 July 2020 North Korean leader Kim Jong Un poses for a photograph after conferring commemorative pistols to leading commanding officers of the armed forces on the 67th anniversary of the "Day of Victory in the Great Fatherland Liberation War". Which marks the signing of the Korean War armistice KCNA via Reuters

Ms Hernandez, meanwhile, desperately misses Danny, who lives with her husband in Westchester. Before she moved, Ms Hernandez used to volunteer at Danny’s school: at book fairs, in the library and at his soccer games. Not yet at the age where his parents were a constant embarrassment, Danny was always excited to see his mother show up. He would hug her tightly, she says, and proclaim proudly to his friends: “That’s my mom!”

These days, Danny hugs her all the time when he comes to visit, but for a different reason: he is afraid to let her go.

“He always tells me he doesn’t want to leave on Sunday nights,” she says. “He doesn’t want to leave because he’s afraid the police will come to the church and take me away.”

Ms Hernandez is working a plan to get out of the church. A legal team has been set up to help her, looking into all angles for an asylum or visa application. For her part, she has been doing interviews and press briefings to raise awareness of the cause. She appreciates the help of everyone around her, but subscribes to a personal maxim that translates roughly to: “Help yourself so that I will also help you.”

There are days when she fears she will never be able to return to her family, but she tries to focus on an overarching goal: not only getting out of the church, but getting out with her head held high.

There is some hope this could happen. Of the 37 people who sought sanctuary in houses of worship in 2017, nine of them were granted some sort of reprieve from deportation, according to the Church World Service. Of the 12 who sought sanctuary in 2018, six have been granted reprieves.

There is also a good deal of doubt. Just think week, the White House announced it would push for new legislation to make it harder to apply for asylum in the US. The Justice Department added that it would start rating immigration judges based on the number of cases they close – an attempt to reduce the backlog of cases and speed up deportations.