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Mexican Mother Stays in Chicago Church to Avoid Deportation

HeadlineAug 21, 2006

In Chicago, a rally was held Sunday to support a Mexican woman who is seeking sanctuary inside a Chicago church in an attempt to defy the government’s attempts to deport her. Elvira Arellano has been living in the church since Tuesday, when she was supposed to surrender to authorities for deportation. Arellano is president of United Latino Family, a group that lobbies for families that could be split by deportation. She was born in Mexico and came to the country as an undocumented immigrant. Her seven-year-old son was born in the United States and is a U.S. citizen. “I’m going to fight so that my son and I will be respected,” she said. “So that all undocumented immigrants will be respected.”

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