by Stephen of the Thinkery
Elvira Arellano was just deported from the United States after more than a year of living in a Chicago church. I wrote about this some time ago, and was surprised even then that she had lasted so long with no more "protection" than a tradition that exists more in vampire fiction than reality. Ms. Arellano was arrested in LA after leaving the church to travel the country speaking about her issue and lobbying members of Congress to reform our immigration laws. Apparently the concept of "sanctuary" is stronger than I thought.
The important part of this story, as Atrios notes, is that there is now an 8-year-old American citizen who is without his mother. The US government, of course, has no ability - yet, at least - to deport an American citizen because of the misdemeanor committed by their relative.
