CHICAGO-
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed on behalf of an immigration activist who took refuge in a Chicago church after the government ordered her to deportation to Mexico.
Elvira Arellano, 31, had hoped the judge would rule that deporting her would violate the constitutional rights of her 7-year-old son, Saul, an American citizen.
But U.S. District Judge Amy J. St. Eve ruled Friday that the boy’s rights would not be violated, though she did say the child would suffer a hardship.
“The question before the court is whether that hardship is of constitutional magnitude–under any construction of the alleged facts, it is not,” St. Eve said in her order.
The judge concluded that the pending removal order does not prevent Saul from exercising his rights of citizenship.
“Saul will not suffer any injury to his constitutional right to remain in the United States,” she said.
Neither Arellano nor her attorney, Joseph Mathews, returned phone messages left Friday evening seeking comment.
The lawsuit was filed against the government by the pastor of the church where Arellano sought refuge Aug. 15.
The Rev. Walter Coleman of the Adalberto United Methodist Church said Friday that Arellano would continue her fight to remain in the United States despite the ruling.
“It doesn’t change anything,” Coleman said.
There was no sign that the government was preparing to go into the church to remove Arellano by force.
“We’ll review the decision once we receive it,” said Carl Rusnok, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Dallas. He declined further comment.
Arellano was deported shortly after illegally crossing into the United States in 1997 and returned within days. She was arrested in 2002 and convicted of working under a false Social Security number.
She has since become a vocal proponent for immigration reform and is president of United Latino Family, a group that lobbies for families that could be split by deportation.
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