Illinois Mom Of 6 Facing Deportation

BOLINGBROOK, IL — A woman who said she has been a Bolingbrook resident since 1999 said a nearly 20-year-old paperwork error could get her deported, despite a clean criminal record. Francisca Lino spoke to WJOL's Kevin Kollins last week, saying she is currently seeking sanctuary at a Humboldt Park church after receiving a notice to report for voluntary deportation. Lino, a mother of six, said her husband and children are all U.S. citizens, and the stress of the situation has even caused one of her daughters to attempt suicide.

Speaking through a translator, Lino said she has worked for the same company for the past 16 years and, while ICE has said it is targeting convicted felons for deportation, she claims she hasn't has so much as a traffic ticket. Will County court records show no traffic infractions or arrests for Lino.

Lino said she was briefly deported in 2005 but allowed to return and given temporary permits to stay and work as she attempted to right an error she says was made when she entered the U.S. in 1999. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

"Under the new administration, they denied her the renewal of her work permit, and now her deportation," a translator told Kollins. Lino said she intends to take refuge at Adalberto United Methodist Church in Chicago as she fights to stay in the country.

"Her kids are going through hell," the translator told Kollins. Listen to her interview on WJOL. Her children, including a pair of twins, are ages 15, 16, 22, 27 and 29, according to Lino.

Although Lino and her interpreter told WJOL she is a Bolingbrook resident, that was called into question Monday afternoon when Bolingbrook police said a school resource officer informed them that Lino's children attend school in Romeoville and report a Romeoville address. A March 2017 story in the Washington Post stated that Lino's Congressman, Rep. Luis Gutierrez, was handcuffed after protesting her deportation. Gutierrez, a Chicago Democrat, said he was cuffed for refusing to leave the ICE headquarters in Chicago. His district does not include Bolingbrook. Will County court records indicate a Bolingbrook home owned by Lino and her husband went into foreclosure in 2013. That home was sold in June of this year.

Meanwhile, Gov. Bruce Rauner on Monday signed legislation that could essentially make Illinois a "sanctuary state." Rauner approved sign Senate Bill 31, also known as the Illinois TRUST Act, which prohibits law enforcement from stopping, detaining or arresting anyone based solely on their immigration status or an immigration detainer.

More from Patch:

• ICE Raids 'Going to Get Worse,' Says Illinois Dem Thrown Out Of Meeting By Paul Ryan Staff
• Immigration Sweep Nets 48 Arrests In Chicago Area

Image via U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Editor's note: Bolingbrook police contacted Patch to say Lino is not a Bolingbrook resident. Patch has updated the story.