Chicago tribune deportation

When an immigrant makes bail or completes a sentence for a crime, ICE can seek to take them into custody. But people convicted of sex offenses against minors still qualify for enforcement. Skip to content. Iran behind drone attack on US base in southern Syria, according to officials. But Britzy, 16, explained that things changed when Trump took office.

At first, the March meeting seemed like any other visit. After speaking with the ICE officials, Francisca emerged with good news: She was free to stay in the country for yet another year. The family rejoiced outside of the federal building in Chicago. But as they prepared to leave, Francisca's husband received a call and nervously handed the phone to their lawyer.

He told the Linos that Francisca had to go back inside. The officials advised her that they had made a mistake. She would have to return on July 11 with a one-way ticket back to Mexico. I was — I didn't know what to say. The weeks since have been tough for Britzy. After suffering a panic attack at the ICE office the morning of her mother's check-in, she and her siblings started seeing a therapist, but stress looms over her.

Even going to school has become a source of anxiety. I don't want to go to school sometimes thinking about it. Like, what if I go to school today, and I come home, and my mom's not home, and I wasn't here to say goodbye or try to do something to stop it?

Britzy isn't sure what will happen on July Her family is considering taking sanctuary so that they can stay together in the U. Britzy aspires to one day become a nurse, a dream that likely won't come to fruition if she doesn't finish high school and college in the U. For now, Britzy's trying to live in the moment as best she can by spending time with loved ones.

She likes to go out with her friends after class, though she avoids sleepovers, reluctant to be away from her mother for too long. Most days, Britzy is happy to just run errands or get a cup of coffee with Francisca. According to researcher Lili Farhang, for kids whose parents face possible deportation, the most common mental health effects are stress, fear and anxiety.

She noted that such feelings can also emerge as a result of exposure to heated immigration debates displayed in the media. Julie Linton, a North Carolina pediatrician and co-chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Immigrant Health Special Interest Group, added that such prolonged exposure to serious stress, known as toxic stress, can harm developing brains and lead to negative impacts on short- and long-term health. She said that fear of a parent's deportation can result in issues with sleeping, eating and concentrating as well as mental health disorders, such as depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress.

In the long term, it can lead to heart disease, diabetes and substance abuse. For each child, toxic stress manifests itself in slightly different ways. Another patient started having panic attacks in school. According to Linton, kids, especially young children, don't fully comprehend the circumstances surrounding their parents' immigration status. He's 16, and he hasn't told any of his friends at school about his family's situation.

He gave his mother his Army commendation medal, received for meritorious service. He defended this land. He defended the flag. Perez Jr. Though he didn't want to go back to Afghanistan, he sought the adrenaline rush that came from combat and turned to cocaine, he said.

Shortly after failing a routine drug test, he said he opted for an early discharge to return to Chicago. At home, he reunited with his daughter from an earlier marriage, met another woman and had a son. In , he transported his parents, who also were legal residents at the time, to take the citizenship exam. When they suggested he join them, he told them he was already a citizen by virtue of his service.

But Perez was wrong. On July 3, , President George W. Bush had signed an executive order clearing the way for noncitizens who had served in the armed forces on or after Sept. In Kandahar at that time, Perez never learned he was obligated to apply and it wasn't automatic.

Perez said he struggled to hold down jobs. He sought treatment at the VA hospital in Maywood where doctors diagnosed him with post-traumatic stress disorder. He was supposed to return for more tests to determine whether he also had a traumatic brain injury.

But the hours of waiting and slow progress were dispiriting. In the meantime, he reconnected with a childhood friend who provided free drugs and alcohol. On the night of Nov. Perez pleaded guilty to delivering less than grams of cocaine and was sentenced to serve half of a year sentence.

He sought addiction therapy, saw a psychologist and a psychiatrist, and started taking antidepressants to regulate his anxiety and moods. He worked as a teacher's aide, coaching other inmates to get their GEDs.

He was told he was ineligible because he was not a U. He presumed there had been a mistake and reached out to ICE to get it fixed.

But by early , months before his release, he realized he had made the mistake: He had failed to apply for expedited citizenship and now was in danger of being deported. During most of his seven years in prison, Perez never saw his mother, Esperanza, who couldn't bear to see him in prison scrubs. When he learned he might not return to Chicago, he called her right away. Before going to Galesburg, Esperanza Perez went to Lincoln United Methodist Church, a Pilsen neighborhood church where many families are fighting the deportations of their loved ones.

Its sister church, Adalberto United Methodist in Humboldt Park, is one of only a few sanctuary churches in the city for people here illegally. Emma Lozano, who serves as the pastor of Lincoln, has pledged to lobby for legislation to protect so-called green-card veterans such as Perez. So far, the Chicago City Council, Cook County Board of Commissioners and Illinois House and Senate have passed resolutions calling for congressional relief for soldiers who are legal residents of the U.

Though legislative relief does not appear to be on the horizon, a number of state representatives wrote letters to the immigration judge on behalf of Perez. Luis Gutierrez, who supports Perez, plans to attend Monday's hearing. When Perez faced that judge in December, a handful of veterans who advocate on behalf of green-card soldiers pleaded for leniency.

Perez, they argued, came back from the war scarred, like many of them.