Mother of two Guadalupe García de Rayos was arrested Wednesday during a yearly check-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Phoenix, Arizona, and deportation procedures have begun to send her back to Mexico.
Rayos, age 35, was arrested eight years ago for using a fake Social Security Number when the nearby water park where she worked was raided. She had been required to check in yearly with ICE, and she did so this year despite the fear she could be deported under stricter immigration rules, The New York Times reported.
A final deportation order was issued in her case in 2013, but she was not deemed enough of a threat for ICE to follow through on the order during previous check-ins during President Barack Obama's administration.
However, one of the executive orders signed by President Donald Trump says anyone in the country illegally who has been charged with or convicted of a crime has priority for deportation, even if the crime wasn’t violent or gang-related.
Rayos was aware she might be deported. Relatives and friends suggested she might not want to show up for her scheduled check-in, but Rayos prayed about it and decided to go to the meeting, according to CNN.
Rayos may be the first illegal immigrant deported under the new rules.
Protesters gathered outside the Phoenix ICE office Thursday to try to prevent a van that may have been carrying Rayos from leaving the building, remaining mostly peaceful but provoking seven arrests, according to CNN.