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Eli Kantor is a labor, employment and immigration law attorney. He has been practicing labor, employment and immigration law for more than 36 years. He has been featured in articles about labor, employment and immigration law in the L.A. Times, Business Week.com and Daily Variety. He is a regular columnist for the Daily Journal. Telephone (310)274-8216; eli@elikantorlaw.com. For more information, visit beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com and and beverlyhillsemploymentlaw.com

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Wednesday, March 07, 2012

Miami High School Valedictorian Gets Deportation Reprieve

USA Today: A high school valedictorian in Miami who was threatened with imminent deportation has won at least a two-year reprieve, The Miami Herald reports.

Daniela Pelaez, of North Miami Senior High School, was ordered by a federal immigration judge last week to leave the country by the end of March.

Pelaez, 18, came to the United States from Colombia with her parents at the age of 4, but remained when they overstayed their tourist visa.

Her brother serves in the U.S. Army and has become a U.S. citizen, The Herald notes. Her mother is unable to return to the States after going back to Colombia for cancer treatment in 2006. Her father got residency papers through her brother.

Daniela's case provoked an outpouring of support from more than 2,600 students, teachers and community leaders who turned out in North Miami last Friday to protest the deportation order.

Her attorney, Nera Shefer, tells The Herald that Pelaez and her sister have been given a deferred action for two years on their case, meaning immigration authorities will not carry out any deportation order during that time.

"It's a huge relief that I get to stay for graduation," Daniela tells WSVN-TV.

The newspaper quotes a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as citing "prosecutorial discretion" for the decision.

The spokesman says the agency operates on a case-by-case basis and is focusing its resources on higher priority cases, such as criminals who have recently crossed in the country or have egregiously violated immigration law.

A high school valedictorian in Miami who was threatened with imminent deportation has won at least a two-year reprieve, The Miami Herald reports.

Daniela Pelaez, of North Miami Senior High School, was ordered by a federal immigration judge last week to leave the country by the end of March.

Pelaez, 18, came to the United States from Colombia with her parents at the age of 4, but remained when they overstayed their tourist visa.

Her brother serves in the U.S. Army and has become a U.S. citizen, The Herald notes. Her mother is unable to return to the States after going back to Colombia for cancer treatment in 2006. Her father got residency papers through her brother.

Daniela's case provoked an outpouring of support from more than 2,600 students, teachers and community leaders who turned out in North Miami last Friday to protest the deportation order.

Her attorney, Nera Shefer, tells The Herald that Pelaez and her sister have been given a deferred action for two years on their case, meaning immigration authorities will not carry out any deportation order during that time.

"It's a huge relief that I get to stay for graduation," Daniela tells WSVN-TV.

The newspaper quotes a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as citing "prosecutorial discretion" for the decision.

The spokesman says the agency operates on a case-by-case basis and is focusing its resources on higher priority cases, such as criminals who have recently crossed in the country or have egregiously violated immigration law.

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