An undocumented Guatemalan woman widely considered a pillar of her Palm Beach County community has been ordered to be deported while her U.S. citizen children face an agonizing decision.
Olga Perez came to Florida 30 years ago as a teenager escaping anti-Indigenous violence in Guatemala’s highlands. She’s a respected community leader in Lake Worth Beach and Palm Beach County, assisting agencies like the Sheriff’s office with language interpreter services. Last November, she was arrested and sent to a migrant detention center in Arizona. Now an immigration judge has ordered her deportation.
“If you’re a danger to society there should be consequences, but Olga is not that. She is a law-abiding person that has contributed so much to her community,” said Mariana Blanco, a director of the Guatemala-Maya Center in Lake Worth Beach.
Perez also has four U.S.-born citizen children between the ages 13-to-21 who must decide whether to join her if she’s sent back to Guatemala — or continue on here.
“For Olga, there’s no sense of opportunity in Guatemala – and she wants to make sure her children succeed in their lives in the U.S."
Perez has until July 6 to appeal the judge’s decision.
READ MORE: 'It makes no sense.' More law-abiding migrants are being deported to places they don't recognize
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