Woman deported to Mexico amid Phoenix protests
ASTRID GALVAN Associated Press
12 p.m.
An immigrant mother who was granted leniency under the Obama administration has been deported to Mexico in a sign of how President Donald Trump will carry through on his campaign promises on immigration.
The lawyer for Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos and an immigrant advocacy group say they learned from Mexican diplomats in the U.S. that she had been taken back to Mexico.
The Phoenix mother was in the country illegally and checked in Wednesday for what she thought was a routine meeting with Immigration, Customs and Enforcement officials. They then moved to deport her, prompting protests.
Seven people were arrested after they blocked ICE vans from leaving a Phoenix location.
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11:25 p.m.
Police arrested several protesters Wednesday night after they blocked enforcement vans from leaving an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Phoenix.
Media reports say the protest surged after a Mesa mother was taken into custody after a routine check-in with the agency.
Apparently fearing her deportation, activists blocked the gates surrounding the office near central Phoenix in what the Arizona Republic says was an effort to block several vans and a bus inside from leaving.
The paper says that Guadalupe Garcia de Rayos apparently was in one of the vehicles, which are used to transport people in ICE custody to detention centers, or to the border for deportation.
After 9 p.m., police officers amassed on the south side of the facility as protesters continued to block access, chanting “Justice!” and “Power to the people, no one is illegal!”
Police posted on Twitter that they arrested about seven protesters, but they added that most of the protesters were peaceful.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press.
