Immigration authorities in Chicago filed deportation charges against Alejandra Cano on Thursday but opted not to detain the 37-year-old as she waits for her day in court.
Cano is a recovering drug addict and a single mom of two U.S. citizens. She’s lived in the United States since she was a toddler and is a legal permanent resident, but property crimes she committed at the height of her addiction put her at risk of being deported.
“I’m happy I get to spend the holidays with my kids,” Cano said outside the ICE field office in the South Loop. “My first stop is to finally go buy a Christmas tree.”
She had a check-in Thursday with immigration authorities, her third after being detained by Customs and Border Protection agents at O’Hare Airport in August after visiting her father in their native Chile.
CBP agents decided not to hold Cano, but Immigration and Customs Enforcement pressed ahead with deportation charges. She will appear before an immigration judge March 16, who will decide whether Cano can stay in the country.
Carlos Ballesteros is a corps members of Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that aims to bolster Sun-Times coverage of Chicago’s South Side and West Side.
