RNS
\nby Daniel Burke
\nU.S. officials deported illegal Mexican immigrant and activist
\nElvira Arellano Sunday (Aug. 19) in Los Angeles, days after she left her
\nrefuge at a Chicago church to launch a national immigration-reform
\ncampaign.
\nArellano, 32, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs officers
\n“without incident” and transported to San Ysidro, Calif., where she was
\nturned over to Mexican immigration officials late Sunday, ICE announced
\nMonday.
\nArellano’s 8-year-old son, Saul, who is a U.S. citizen, was with her
\nat the time of her arrest, federal officials said, and was left in the
\ncustody of her traveling companions. Among those companions was the Rev.
\nWalter Coleman, of Adalberto United Methodist Church in Chicago, where
\nArellano had eluded federal capture for more than a year.
\nAfter illegally entering the U.S. twice, Arellano was arrested in
\n2002 and convicted of using another person’s Social Security number to
\nillegally obtain employment, ICE said.
\nOn Aug. 15, Arellano announced that she would begin a multi-city
\ncampaign to push for immigration reform, which would end Sept. 12 with a
\nvigil in Washington. Los Angeles was to be the first stop on that
\ncampaign.
\nCopyright 2007 Religion News Service<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n