U.S. teen whose mom was deported to tell story at convention
By Omar Millán González
UNION-TRIBUNE
August 25, 2008
TIJUANA – Elisa Morales Guzmán was a typical American teenager. She attended high school, hung out with her friends and dreamed of becoming a famous actress.
But one afternoon last May, while at her best friend's house, Elisa received a call from her mother, who told the teen that she had just been deported.
The news shattered the 15-year-old's world.
Esther Morales Guzmán, 48, who had lived in the United States without legal documents for 18 years, was arrested by immigration authorities near her home in the San Francisco Bay Area. The next day, at 4 a.m., she was dropped off in Tijuana, along with 50 others.
In an instant, Elisa became one of the thousands of children caught up in the nationwide crackdown on illegal immigrants.
Elisa will emerge from that anonymity this week at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, where she has been invited to speak at a forum about her family's experience.
Sen. Barack Obama and key party leaders have been invited to the forum, being presented by Hermandad Mexicana, an organization that advocates for the human rights of immigrants.
The Los Angeles-based group chose Elisa as its spokeswoman on the plight of U.S.-born children separated from their parents who are deported.
Find this article at: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/tijuana/20080825-9999-1m25elisa.html
