Another one of these cases... Heard about this story out of San Francisco about the Lee family -- Melissa and her teen kids Elizabeth and Felix -- undocumented immigrants facing deportation to Peru: Student Elizabeth Lee faces deportation - mom held.This is another deportation case where the kids have pretty much spent most of their lives in the United States. Elizabeth, 18, recently graduated from high school and had planned to start her first semester at UC Berkeley in the fall when her mother was arrested by immigration authorities.
The family was set to be deported on January 19, but were recently granted an extension and will report to Immigration and Customs Enforcement in July:
It was the day before her 14th birthday in 2006 when Lee learned that she was living in the United States illegally. Her mother was arrested by immigration authorities while Lee and her brother, Felix, were at school. Lee was sent to live with a foster family for a week - she celebrated her birthday with strangers - before being reunited with her mother and brother.This situation sucks. Thankfully, the Lee family gets at least six more months in the country while they seek residency. Their lawyers think the family has a strong immigration case in part because Elizabeth and her brother Felix are exceptional students. More here: Elizabeth Lee Granted Six Month Stay Of Deportation.
The three of them fought to stay in the United States by filing a plea for asylum. But the asylum case was denied in 2008, and two years later, Melissa Lee was arrested a second time.
"It has been like a roller coaster. Some days are better than others," said Elizabeth Lee, who is taking classes at San Francisco City College while she awaits the outcome of her case. "I put so much effort into school as a distraction from my problems. I wanted to be someone."
