Colliding Lives: Deportations strand young U.S. citizens
Michael Martinez/MCT
May 22, 2007 - 12:02PM

Luissana Santibanez and her mother Sergia are pictured at Luissana's high school graduation. Luissana currently a University of Texas senior, and a mother figure to her siblings, Madelein, 16, Paul, 15, and Sergio, 13.
MCT AUSTIN — With no more than two hours of sleep in 32 hours, Luissana Santibanez found her two lives colliding.

There is Santibanez the 23-year-old senior at the University of Texas who just pulled an all-nighter to complete a paper and cram for a test.

Then there is Santibanez the sudden mother to three siblings, ages 13, 15 and 16. With classes over, she was beginning her second life, cooking dinner and supervising three teenagers with their homework.

When she had a private moment, Santibanez broke down. Sitting on the living room floor with her laptop, she began to cry.

“I get sad sometimes. I know that this is not the way things are supposed to be,â€