Bautista received
work permit in years
following husband’s
deportation
By JENNIFER MEER
Summer Managing News Editor
On Tuesday evening, hundreds
gathered to protest the deporta-
tion of Lourdes Salazar Bautista — a
local mother with three U.S.-born
children — in Ann Arbor. The event
began with a vigil at St. Mary’s Stu-
dent Parish before marching to the
Federal Building on Liberty Street.
Bautista was born in Mexico but
moved to the United States with her
husband in 1997. She was detained
by U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement in 2011 but traded plac-
es with her husband, who was then
deported.
The Washtenaw Interfaith Coali-
tion for Immigration Rights, St.
Mary’s Student Parish and affiliated
community members launched the
Lucha por Lourdes campaign, ask-
ing Detroit ICE Director Rebecca
Adducci to grant Bautista stay in her
community. “Lucha” means “fight”
in Spanish.
The event was held in both Span-
ish and English.
In a translated interview, Bautista
said she was grateful to have such
strong support from the community.
“I feel very strong,” Bautista said.
“I feel very full in my faith, and I feel
strong to move forward and fight for
my children.”
Rackham student Luz Meza, who
attends St. Mary’s, joined the cam-
paign as the primary media contact.
“A lot of community members
came onto the campaign knowing
Lourdes for such a long time,” she
said. “We came together — a core
group of four of us — and a very large
group of amazing volunteers and
organizers who are doing a lot of the
legwork for this campaign.”
Meza said Bautista’s request to
stay in the United States is not abnor-
mal; it has been granted over the past
several years and was expected to
be granted this year, as she has chil-
dren.
“The
priorities
of
ICE
has
changed with the new administra-
tion — where before they were using
their discretion to grant stay to fami-
lies where the family was very con-
nected to the community and they
have children, and on top of all of it,
the possibility of eventually obtain-
ing a legal status through her chil-
dren,” she said. “There has been a
change in the way that things have
been running, although it is true that
Director Adduci still has the power
to grant her to stay. It’s not an issue
of, (Adduci) has been instructed not
to; it is, she has the power and she’s
choosing to go in a route that is
more favorable for the followers of
the current administration.”
Attendees partook in prayers
and moments of silence in support
of Bautista. They also lit candles in
her honor.
Bautista addressed the crowd,
expressing
gratitude
for
the
immense community support. Her
words were translated to English.
Bautista then told her story — her
husband’s deportation and how it
has affected her and her three chil-
dren.
“I am the mother of three kids
who thank God they have been
born in this country,” she said. “I
(had) a normal life just like you did
until 2010.”
Bautista said she spent 23 days
in jail.
“I was told I could remain in this
country with my children but that
my husband had to go,” she said. “I
was only able to see my husband to
say goodbye.”
Since then, Bautista said she has
checked in with the ICE each year
since they granted her the ability
to stay on a work permit. However,
this March, she was denied stay
and is set to be deported August 2.
“Immigration has given me a
work permit that has been renewed
year by year, until March of this
year,” she said. “When I went to my
appointment, I was told it’s the deci-
sion of the new president. They had
to clean up all the archives… I have to
leave the country.”
Bautista noted she never had a
criminal record, nor is she a threat to
the country; she plays the role of both
a mother and a father to her children.
She said she wants them to have a
better future.
“I’m fighting,” she said. “I’m
bringing my kids up, I’m shaping
them, I want to have the chance to
continue guiding them and educat-
ing them so they can reach a future,
since I come from a very humble
environment where I was not able
to reach anything like this. I want
to shape them so my kids are good
members of the community in the
future.”
Bautista said such circumstances
were not unique to her, but others as
well.
“I want to speak out, not just for
me and my family, but for people that
I know, for members of my family,”
she said. “We are here because we
are seeking a better future, because
we are here to work.”
After the vigil, attendees made
their way down State Street toward
Liberty Street, chanting and car-
rying signs in support of Bautista.
Signs read “Keep families together”
and “Lucha Por Lourdes.”
Marchers stopped outside the
Federal Building on Liberty Street.
2
Thursday, July 20, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
NEWS
Hundreds come together to protest
deportation of local mother of three
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See DEPORTATION, Page 3
MAX KUANG/DAILY
Lourdes Salazar Bautista, center, leads the rally protesting her deportation in
downtown Ann Arbor on Tuesday.
NISA KHAN
Editor in Chief
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