The implementation of President Donald Trump’s immigration laws has rubbed many people the wrong way. It is also a threat to some families. A case in point is that of Francisca Lino, a 50-year-old mother of six. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement department had given her until Thanksgiving Day to turn herself in for deportation or be declared a fugitive.
A Former Deportee
The escapades of Francisca Lino with ICE have been a cat and mouse race for nearly two decades. Their first encounter was in 1999 when the department detained her for illegally crossing the USA-Mexico border. She was fingerprinted and expeditiously deported from the US.
Days after her deportation, Ms. Lino made a second attempt and successfully crossed the border. She married Diego Lino, a US citizen and finally settled in Bolingbrook. Each of them had a child from previous relationships. They had four more together, making Ms. Lino a mother of six.
A Victim of a Notary Fraud
Ms. Lino’s current woes began in 2005 when she applied for a green card. Through a notary public, she had managed to get a driving license and a Social Security Number. After paying all necessary fees to the ICE, she was called for an interview to review her application. She was arrested during the interview for not stating her previous arrest during the application.
However, according to her attorney, she had made this admission verbatim to the officials during application. Not including this in her application was a notary fraud for which she is not responsible.
Nevertheless, in March 2017, she received a notice of deportation. She was required to visit the ICE with a plane ticket. In a desperate attempt to avoid deportation, she had her husband drive her to Adalberto United Methodist church. The same parish had offered asylum to immigration activist, Elvira Arellano years before.
Ms. Lino through her attorney filed a federal civil rights lawsuit citing a breach of her Fifth Amendment’s rights in the 1999 arrest. The arrest made her lose legal immigration status. Her immigration attorney plans to use the lawsuit to urge the ICE to stay their deportation until the federal case is finalized.
Since the law prohibits raids on places of worship, Francisca has a reprieve to pray for her fate or plan how to leave her family.
