More than two dozen people were arrested in North Carolina after the arrest of an illegal immigrant who reportedly was a convicted criminal.

Samuel Oliver-Bruno, 47, who has been taking refuge at a “sanctuary church” for nearly a year, was taken into custody after showing up for an appointment at an immigration office in Raleigh, according to local affiliate WGHP Fox 8.

He was accompanied by a large entourage of faith leaders and church members — dare we say liberal activists — who formed a human wall around the vehicle taking Bruno to a detention facility, interfering with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents performing their duty.

City Well United Methodist Church, which declared itself a “sanctuary” for the illegal immigrant, is where Bruno has lived for the past 11 months.

Samuel Oliver-Bruno is in this van, in ICE custody. Bruno has been living in sanctuary in #Durham church for 11 months. Today, he left for ICE appointment, as he seeks deferred deportation. At that appointment, he was arrested. Church members, clergy, blocking van. @WRAL #WRAL pic.twitter.com/fsgvI1V50U

— Sarah Krueger (@WRALSarah) November 23, 2018

Locking arms, the group surrounded the van holding the illegal immigrant, singing, praying and chanting as they called for him to be released.

ICE spokesman Bryan Cox said Bruno was arrested as part of a “targeted enforcement action,” Fox 8 reported.

“Mr. Oliver-Bruno is a convicted criminal who has received all appropriate legal process under federal law, has no outstanding appeals, and has no legal basis to remain in the U.S.,” Cox said.

A Mexican national, Bruno has reportedly been in the country over 20 years and was arrested in 2014 in El Paso, Texas, for “using fraudulent identity documents” to enter the U.S. — he later admitted that he paid $1,000 for a birth certificate.

His case, which has been subject to extensive appeals, has been pending since then.

In all, 27 people were arrested when they refused to follow orders to disperse, WGHP reported.

Video of the arrests taking place, taken by WRAL reporter Sarah Kruegar can be seen below:

Among those arrested was Bruno’s 19-year-old son, charged with assaulting an ICE agent.

Daniel Oliver-Perez’s mug shot can been seen below:

Samuel Oliver-Bruno’s son, Daniel Oliver-Perez, 19, was arrested. Here’s his mug shot. He faces charges of assault of a government official. I’m told he was trying to keep officers from taking his dad away. Oliver-Bruno, who is undocumented, will go to a detention center. #ABC11 pic.twitter.com/z7UgB21Yoa

— Gloria Rodriguez (@GloriaABC11) November 23, 2018

Eventually, at least this time, law and order prevailed over liberals using churches to circumvent immigration laws, and Bruno, who has no legal right to be in the country, was taken to a detention facility.

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Tom Tillison

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The longest-tenured writer at BizPac Review, Tom grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills.

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