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

420 Maynard St.

Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327

www.michigandaily.com

JUEUI HONG

Business Manager

734-418-4115 ext. 1241

jueuih@michigandaily.com

EDITORIAL STAFF

Dayton Hare 
 Managing Editor 

haredayt@michigandaily.com

Jennifer Meer Managing News Editor 

news@michigandaily.com 

SENIOR NEWS EDITORS: Andrew Hiyama, 
Chetali Jain and Dylan LaCroix

Sarah Khan Editorial Page Editor 

tothedaily@michigandaily.com

Jacob Shames Managing Sports Editor

sportseditors@michigandaily.com

Will Stewart Managing Arts Editor 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

arts@michigandaily.com

SENIOR ARTS EDITOR: Dom Polsinelli 

Alexis Rankin 

and Max Kuang Managing Photo Editors 

photo@michigandaily.com

Michelle Phillips Managing Design Editor 
 
 

design@michigandaily.com

Emily Miiller Managing Copy Editor

copydesk@michigandaily.com

SENIOR COPY EDITOR: Ashley Woonton

Christian Paneda Managing MiC Editor

michiganincolor@michigandaily.com

Abe Lofy Managing Video Editor

video@michigandaily.com

Ishan Vashinta Managing Web Editor

ivashi@michigandaily.com

Ellie Homant Managing Social Media Editor

CONTACT INFORMATION 

Newsroom Office hours:

Sun.-Thurs. 11 a.m. - 2 a.m.

 
 734-763-2459 opt.3

News Tips news@michigandaily.com

Corrections 
 corrections@michigandaily.com

Letters to the Editor tothedaily@michigandaily.com 

or visit michigandaily.com/letters

Photo Department photo@michigandaily.com
Arts Section arts@michigandaily.com

Editorial Page opinion@michigandaily.com
Sports Section sports@michigandaily.com
Magazine statement@michigandaily.com 
 

Advertising Phone: 734-418-4115 
Department dailydisplay@gmail.com

The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is 
published every Thursday during the 
spring and summer terms by students 
at the University of Michigan. One copy 
is available free of charge to all readers. 
Additional copies may be picked up at the 
Daily’s office for $2. Subscriptions for fall 
term, starting in September, via U.S. mail 
are $110. Winter term (January through 
April) is $115, yearlong (September 
through April) is $195. University affiliates 
are subject to a reduced subscription rate. 
On-campus subscriptions for fall term 
are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid. 
The Michigan Daily is a member of The 
Associated Press and The Associated 
Collegiate Press. 

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

734-418-4115 ext. 1251

nisakhan@michigandaily.com

