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Sep 6, 2006 9:16 am US/Central

Judge: Activist In Church May Be Deported

Elvira Arellano Wants To Stay In U.S. With Son

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CHICAGO (CBS) ― A judge has ruled that immigration officials may deport the activist who his holed up with her son in a West Side church.

Elvira Arellano has been staying at the Adalberto United Methodist Church on West Division Street since last month. She went to the church with her 7-year-old son, Saulito who is a U.S. citizen, instead of surrendering on Aug. 15 as immigration officials demanded.

A federal judge refused to issue a restraining order on Tuesday that would have barred immigration> officials from deporting Arellano, but the judge did tell attorneys to work out an agreement with her.

Since Arellano went to the church, some officials have urged a letter-writing campaign to President Bush asking to allow Arellano to stay in the United States with her son. But others have protested against Arellano's actions and one group even said an abuse report should be filed against her for keeping her son in the church.

Immigration officers have said they will not enter the church to arrest Arellano, although they said earlier that they intended to apprehend Arellano at a time and place "of their choosing."

The small, un-airconditioned church where Arellano is staying has become the epicenter of the local immigration movement. It pastor is the Rev. Walter "Slim" Coleman, who first became known in the 1980s for his work as a community activist in the Uptown neighborhood.

(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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