Albanian woman, who became poster child for immigration debate in the United States after media publicity of her failed asylum claim, has been told she won’t be deported right away
TIRANA, Dec. 5 – In a case that has captivated Albanian and American audiences alike, an Albanian woman whose asylum claim was rejected has been told she won’t immediately be deported from the United States, as authorities opened a review of her case following intense media coverage.
A U.S. judge had earlier ordered ȩle Precetaj to leave the country. Authorities then gave her a 24-hour notice of removal after several denied appeals. She had been living in the United States for 13 years, had three children while there and is married a legal resident.
Photos published in U.S. and international media showing Precetaj, 40, sobbing and hugging her three children, drew sympathy by many in the U.S., but others argue that the law should be equal for all.
The U.S. is in a middle of an intense debate on whether it should allow people who have been living in the country illegally for many years to have a path to become legal residents and eventually citizens.
Precetaj entered the U.S. in 2000 and applied for asylum claiming she would be forced into crime and prostitution in her village in Albania. Her original request for asylum and several appeals were rejected.
Speaking in an interview with the Albanian service of the Voice of America, Precetaj said that the deportation order had made her feel as if she were a criminal in the eyes of her children.
“I came here to save my life, but my children don’t deserve this,” Precetaj said.
Her lawyer, Andrew Johnson, told VoA that authorities had delayed the deportation because they can choose the order in which they deport people ordered to live the country.
“Exposure of this issue in the media was the only thing that prevented the deportation,” he said.
