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Deportation Order Halted … Thanks to The Washington Post


(Richmond, VA) — Eighteen-year-old Heydi Mejia came to the United States from Guatemala in 1998, along with her mother, Dora Aldana. While living in the United States, Heydi went to school, eventually attending Meadowbrook High School in the Richmond, VA area. She graduated on June 8 with awards from the National Honor Society, the school's AP program and the Virginia governor.

The problem? She and her mother came to the United States illegally. On a Sunday in December 2011, immigration officials came to their apartment and read them their rights. They were scheduled for deportation a few days after Mejia's graduation.

But that was until a story about their predicament ran in The Washington Post on June 10. The day after the story ran, both were granted a one-year reprieve from deportation by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

"We're happy with the DHS decision," said Mejia's spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity. "And we're especially grateful to The Washington Post, and to Eli Saslow, the reporter who ran the story. We just hope that the paper will now profile the other 12,000,000 illegal immigrants in this country. Every one of them has a story, and with a little work, we can get them all to stay!"

 

Deportation Order Halted … Thanks to The Washington Post. FLATLINE 2012 May-Jun;14(5-6):e5.