RNS
by Daniel Burke
U.S. officials deported illegal Mexican immigrant and activist
Elvira Arellano Sunday (Aug. 19) in Los Angeles, days after she left her
refuge at a Chicago church to launch a national immigration-reform
campaign.
Arellano, 32, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs officers
“without incident” and transported to San Ysidro, Calif., where she was
turned over to Mexican immigration officials late Sunday, ICE announced
Monday.
Arellano’s 8-year-old son, Saul, who is a U.S. citizen, was with her
at the time of her arrest, federal officials said, and was left in the
custody of her traveling companions. Among those companions was the Rev.
Walter Coleman, of Adalberto United Methodist Church in Chicago, where
Arellano had eluded federal capture for more than a year.
After illegally entering the U.S. twice, Arellano was arrested in
2002 and convicted of using another person’s Social Security number to
illegally obtain employment, ICE said.
On Aug. 15, Arellano announced that she would begin a multi-city
campaign to push for immigration reform, which would end Sept. 12 with a
vigil in Washington. Los Angeles was to be the first stop on that
campaign.
Copyright 2007 Religion News Service