Associated Press - January 21, 2009 2:44 PM ET

MEXICO CITY (AP) - A deported Mexican immigrant who holed up in a Chicago church to fight for immigrants' rights is asking President Barack Obama to stop raids and deportations of illegal immigrants in the United States.

Elvira Arellano says she is hopeful that Obama will help pass immigration reform that stops dividing families.

Arellano told reporters Wednesday outside the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City that she gave American officials a letter asking Obama to sign an executive order to stop the deportation of illegal immigrants.

Arellano sought sanctuary for a year before she was deported to Mexico in 2007. She lives in a small town in western Mexico with her U.S. citizen son and writes columns for U.S. newspapers.

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