ACLU Files Class Action Lawsuit For Lilian Calderon, Others

JOHNSTON, RI — Lilian Calderon was issued a final deportation order in 2002 but should be allowed to take advantage of a 2016 law, which allows certain spouses of U.S. citizens to stay in the country, while they pursue legal status, the American Civil Liberties Union said Wednesday. The ACLU in Massachusetts and in Rhode Island today filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of Calderon and four other undocumented aliens. The ruling would apply to all other people in their situation. All are married to U.S. citizens but were issued final deportation orders. Some, like Calderon, were imprisoned by immigration authorities, while others are wearing bracelets with navigational systems, so the government can track their movements.

Calderon, 30, entered the U.S. illegally in 1991 with her parents when she was 3. Immigration authorities found them several years later. Her father applied for asylum and was denied in 1999. The family was given 60 days to leave voluntarily. They pursued several legal avenues to stay in the U.S. Last January, Calderon was detained by immigration officials in Johnston where she and her husband had gone trying to validate their marriage.

The government said she already has been issued a final deportation order and has exhausted all her legal options.

Calderon and her husband were married in 2016 after the birth of their second child and the same year the government changed the law so some undocumented aliens could stay in the country while they attempted to obtain legal status. Their first step would be to validate their marriage, which Calderon was attempting to do when she was taken into custody.

The ACLU said the laws are in conflict in that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services says one thing, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement says the opposite.

Calderon has since completed the second step towards legalizing her status. She obtained conditional approval to leave the country and return after being deported. To see the entire class action suit papers, click here.

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