Immigrant Activist Arrested, Deported
Updated: Immigration activist Elvira Arellano, a mother who sought refuge in a Chicago church for more than a year to keep from being separated from her U.S.-born son, was arrested Sunday in Los Angeles.
Arellano left Chicago last week to take her immigrant rights demonstration on the road. Her 8-year-old son Saul, an American citizen, was with her at the time of her arrest, and the Chicago Tribune reports he started to cry when she was arrested. She consoled him before being taken into custody.
The Associated Press reported Monday that Arellano was deported to Tijuana.
Just before her arrest, Arellano had been speaking to the news media. She headed to northern California to continue her campaign to lobby U.S. lawmakers.
In addition to immigrant rights issues, Arellano and her son have shined a spotlight on so-called “anchor babies,” children who are born in the United States to illegal immigrants. The issue was covered in “Who’s a Citizen?” a story in the January issue of the ABA Journal.
(Updated at 11:40 a.m. Aug. 20)
