PARTIAL TRANSLATION FROM:
http://diariosandiego.com/bin/articulos.cgi?ID=42791

With a sad and optimistic look, Paola Oropeza, the student from Palomar College who on Tuesday was deported with her family, said she will not give up.

Already in Tijuana, after being deported from the country where she lived for 19 years, and reunited with her mother and father, began to think about her future and what she will do to finish her college courses, since she was one semester away from obtaining a degree in Business, before being deported.

"I believe that I am going to finish those courses through the internet and we will remain here because here is the closest thing to where I've lived", said Paola on Friday in an interview after visiting the consulate of the United States in Tijuana.

"I already went to ask and they told me that I am not going to be able to return for 10 years", the student said.

Paola arrived to the United States with her parents, MarĂ*a de Jesus and Guillermo Oropeza along with her sister Claudia in 1989.

The family, as many others, who went to see a respectable immigration lawyer in order to normalize their status in this country, never thought that their documents would be misfilled.

"When my one year work permit arrived we went to thank our lawyer, she was also surprised, and even saw my green card", said Guillermo Oropeza, father of Paola.

"We renewed the permit several times until an appointment letter from Los Angeles arrived ", added Mr. Oropeza. Once with immigration authorities, an agent that reviewed their request for legalization asked them the question that would change everything.

"We arrived and he asked me, that a person of the Mexican government is trying to kill me?', I said No, that that was not true, but that was what my lawyer wrote in the application", Mr. Oropeza who after clarifying the situation, the agent explained that Mexicans are not given political asylum.

"They told us that we had to leave the country but we told them that Paola was three months away from finishing highschool and they gave us permission to remain here, and they didn't deport us until now", said Guillermo.

After years living in Escondido, on Tuesday they executed the family's deportation order, with the same excuse.

"They arrived at five in the morning saying that they were the police, and that they were seeking a gentleman that we did not know, that they were going to enter to look for him and then leave, but they did not leave and they deported us", said Paola.


Claudia Oropeza, the older sister, refused to sign the voluntary exit after being placed under arrest with her parents and younger sister. Claudia is awaiting trial before a judge at a local jail.

In the meantime Paola, MarĂ*a de Jesus and Guillermo went through three days of desperation upon not knowing where they were, while Paola and MarĂ*a de Jesus were deported on Wednesday together, but their father was deported on Thursday and while they were alone it was a nightmare.

"We are together and we already think we know what to do, if its to return to Mexico where we have house in Querétaro, where the family of my wife lives and were we also have a house to arrive, but while we do not know what happnes with Claudia, we will not make a decision", said Guillermo.

"At least the world hasn't closed on us, because we are workers and therefore we will seek a way to continue ahead", added the head the Oropeza family.