Mom to be freed, but obstacles remain in case, attorney says

By Josh Katzenstein
The Detroit News
January 10, 2012 at 1:00 am

Detroit— Leslie Hernandez, 27, hasn't been able to see her three children — ages 10, 5 and 3 — since October, when she was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and told she would be deported to Mexico.

The southwest Detroit resident's sister in-law, Cecilia Manquera, went to ICE headquarters in Detroit on Monday to give the agency a suitcase full of clothes for Hernandez's deportation. Instead, she received good news.

Hernandez will be released from the St. Clair County jail today and allowed to reunite with her family — at least temporarily.

"ICE has administratively halted this removal pending further review," ICE spokesman Khaalid Walls said in an email.

Now, Manquera doesn't have to worry about doctors not treating the children because they didn't have parental permission.

"I'm so excited you don't understand," Manquera, 28, said. "I'm filled with joy to be able to bring their mother to these children."

Hernandez was born in Mexico and moved to Detroit when she was 11. She went to Western High School and obtained her GED in 2002, Manquera said.

In October, ICE officers arrested her while she was driving, and she was supposed to be deported today.

In August, Janet Napolitano, Department of Homeland Security secretary, announced that the United States would stop deporting undocumented immigrants who grew up in this country and are "positive factors" in the community, despite the DREAM Act being rejected by the Senate.

Her attorneys used the guidelines of that moratorium to request a stay of removal from the Board of Immigration Appeals, but it was rejected.

During the past week, though, more than 5,000 people signed online petitions on behalf of Hernandez. About 10 people, including members of immigrant advocacy group One Michigan, marched outside ICE headquarters before Manquera heard the news.

George Mann, an attorney for Hernandez, said he has to present another case to the immigration appeals, but he said her clean legal record might help her stay in the United States.

"She's going to be at home, but her situation remains extremely precarious," he said Monday. "A lot remains to be done, but we are very happy about the decision today."

jkatzenstein@detnews.com

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