The immigrant taking sanctuary at an Amherst church had to be escorted to leave this week for a trip to the hospital.
Lucio Perez left First Congregational Church, where he had been since October, to go to Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton on Monday to get his appendix taken out, according to the Pioneer Valley Workers Center.
Perez, who entered the U.S. illegally from Guatemala in 1999, has since returned to the church.
Immigration officials say they do not get involved in enforcement if the location involves what they consider to be sensitive locations, like churches, schools or hospitals.