Keep North Carolina Grandmother with Her Family

Juana is a mother of four and grandmother of two who lives in Asheboro, NC and has worked at the same textile company in High Point as a sewing machine operator for the last eight years. She arrived in 1992 from Guatemala, having been threatened by armed combatants, and applied for asylum status. She was denied in 1994, and then was offered a work permit while she appealed her status, which took six years.

In 1999 her eldest daughter in Guatemala suffered a life-threatening illness, and she left the country and returned without permission in order to be her caregiver. ICE subsequently denied her appeal, and in 2011 took her into custody, then released her a week later.

Since then she has reported to the Charlotte ICE office periodically for required check-ins, but last month, instead of accepting her attorney's plea for a stay of removal, ICE fitted her with a tracking device, and ordered her to prepare for voluntary departure, telling her she has until May 31st to leave the country, potentially leaving her husband, kids, uncle and cousins behind.