The deportation order of undocumented activist Maru Mora Villalpando was lifted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on 21 September, halting her deportation and giving her the opportunity to pursue her application for permanent residency.
Mora Villalpando, a Mexican national, entered the United States in 1996 on a tourist visa and remained in the country after it expired. Throughout this time, her work has made her a recognised voice for immigrant advocacy on the West Coast of the United States.
Founder of the organisation La Resistencia, this woman's work has focused on denouncing abuses at the ICE immigration detention centre in Tacoma, Washington state, and has called for its closure.
In January 2018, he received a letter from ICE informing him that his visa had expired and deportation proceedings had been initiated against him.
The activist claimed that the Trump administration wanted to deport her. However, under the current administration of President Joe Biden, Mora Villalpando and her lawyer asked ICE to close her case under new White House orders for the agency to use "prosecutorial discretion" to stop cases against undocumented immigrants who do not pose a threat to the security of the country.
Following this decision by ICE, the immigration judge handling her case administratively closed the case and Mora Villalpando will be able to proceed with her US citizen daughter's petition for permanent residency with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
"Let my case be an example for many undocumented people. We cannot give up. This country is our home and we must fight for our rights," he concluded.