Star California student-athlete in danger of being deported
Ayded Reyes (center) is California’s top-ranked junior college women’s cross country runner, has a 3.50 GPA, and wants to become an obstetrician, yet she is facing deportation due to her failure to present proper ID to a San Diego police officer in late October. (Facebook)
By JUAN GASTELUM
Channel: Immigration
Ayded Reyes is a top ranked, woman’s junior college, cross country athlete in California. She is also scheduled to go before an immigration judge next year to determine if she will be deported to Mexico, ESPN reports.
The article says Reyes’ parents brought her to the United States illegally at age two. She now faces the possibility of being sent back to a country where she says she doesn’t know anyone because she couldn’t present a proper ID when a police officer in San Diego approached the window of her boyfriend’s parked car.
A background check by the officer revealed Reyes’ undocumented status and police turned her over to border patrol. She was detained for five days, during which she said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers pressured her to sign a voluntary deportation agreement.
She refused to sign.
Hours before she would have been deported, Reyes was given a reprieve when U.S. Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.) intervened on her behalf. The congressman introduced a private bill for Reyes, which would grant her citizenship if passed.
The Obama administration announced a case-by-case review of all new and pending deportation cases in August. Immigration agents were instructed to use a set of guidelines to prioritize the deportation of individuals with criminal backgrounds or little-to-no ties to the United States. Under those guidelines, the deportation of young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the country as children should be considered low-priority.
Reyes is also one of an estimated 2.1 million undocumented youth nationwide who would be eligible for a pathway to legal status under the DREAM Act, federal legislation that has been under the consideration of Congress for over a decade, and last failed in the Senate in December.
California passed it’s own version of the law in two segments earlier this year. The state-based legislation grants students in-state tuition rates and the ability to apply for publicly funded student aid, but falls short of providing a pathway to legal status.
Read the full report at ESPN.
