OGDEN -- Ten of Vicky Thorsted's brothers and sisters crammed into her Ogden home on Friday in what may be one of the final gatherings for the family, as most of her siblings and parents of Belgian descent are slated for deportation.
Thorsted, 23, and her oldest sister, Kyra, 24, are the only siblings in the van der Spek family who will be able to stay in the U.S. if the family's appeal of their deportation order is unsuccessful.
"I hope that people will support us," Thorsted said. "My family, they're good people. They don't want money, they work hard and don't need government assistance. They just don't want to go back."
Dirk and Crystal van de Spek now live in West Valley City, but left Belgium 10 years ago with their 10 children after they claimed police and government officials harassed them due to their membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and because of their large family.
Dirk van der Spek has worked as a truck driver for 9 years, Crystal van der Spek said she is currently a certified nursing assistant. Their son Dirk, 22, is a diesel mechanic.
Crystal van der Spek said that before moving to the U.S., her father, who is highly influential in the Belgian government, objected to her conversion to the LDS church and was the catalyst for a police raid on her home in 1999.
After the raid and constant monitoring of the family's movements, the van der Speks left the country.
When they arrived in Utah, they overstayed their visas and applied for asylum.
"When we got here we didn't have the right visa, but what else can I say?" Crystal van der Spek said. "If we go back, it will happen again."
Van der Spek said the Belgian government placed the LDS church on a watch list in 1997. The list, she said, includes certain sects and other groups classified as "dangerous cults."
A spokesman for the LDS church could not confirm whether the church is on a government list in Belgium and referred the inquiry to the Belgian government.
The LDS church currently has about 6,000 members in Belgium, which has a population of 10 million.
Thorsted and her older sister were born in Belgium, but both married American citizens about five years ago and will not have to go back.
The van der Spek's two youngest children, 10 and 8, were born in America but will leave the country with the family if they are forced out.
The van der Spek family will have to leave the U.S. as soon as the Belgian government grants them passports to return to Europe. They must check in with officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement once a month to report their progress on obtaining those documents.
If the family is forced to leave, they may have to seek asylum in another country.
Crystal van der Spek said the ordeal has been hard on her children, who have integrated and are accustomed to life in the U.S.
"It feels like the last 11 years has been a test of my faith."
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