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Feb 20, 2007 7:15 pm US/Central

Students Fight Deportation Order For Classmate

Mary Stewart
Reporting

(CBS 11 News) Students at Tarrant County Community College chanted, "Free Victoria," in support of their classmate. Victoria Chiwara attended the college until immigration authorities took her to a detention facility in Haskell, Texas on January 10th.

The protesting students were from the Cornerstone Honors Program. Samantha Windschitt organized the protest to ask immigration officials to review her appeal to stay in the United States. "She loves this country," Samantha said.

The students say their 19-year-old friend has lived with her mother in Cedar Hill for six years. During that time Victoria was seeking political asylum from her home country of Zimbabwe.

At college, the young woman has won admirers. "It's very upsetting. Victoria is such a quality young lady and a very good student,“ said Associate Professor of History John Perkins.

Victoria's mistake, according to court documents, is that she, like dozens of North Texans, hired the wrong attorney to file her immigration papers. According to a November 2006 'D Magazine' article, a Fort Worth couple was also victimized by the same lawyer. That couple claims the man swindled them out of $65,000. The lawyer hasn’t been seen since.

An appeal filed with the Department of Justice says Victoria's mother paid the lawyer $2,500 to file an appeal... but he disappeared. The family later learned his license had been suspended.

Victoria's professor hopes immigration officials will reconsider. "She's within one semester of completing the Cornerstone Program here, our honors program at TCC. I've been told that she has a scholarship to Baylor,“ Perkins said. “She’s just a delightful young lady and a very, very strong student and you just want to see somebody like that get the chance to get the education they need. “

CBS 11 News contacted federal authorities for comment and was told the case would have to be researched and they would get back to us.


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