A Siler City woman who fled to the United States in 2014 to escape gang violence and sexual assault is fighting to remain in the United States after a near-deportation to her native El Salvador.
The Charlotte Observer and CBS North Carolina wrote about the case of 20-year-old Yosselin Herrera on Tuesday. According to the Observer, Herrera said she fled El Salvador at the age of 16 after she was raped by gang members there. The Observer reported she fears deportation would be the equivalent of a death sentence should she return.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Immigration Court in Charlotte postponed her case until Nov. 1, which will allow Herrera time to pursue asylum in the U.S. at a federal hearing in Virginia. The Observer reports, however, her case comes at a time where immigration and asylum have become hot-button political issues since the inauguration of President Donald Trump.
North Carolina’s NAACP, the Chatham County commissioners and the town council of Siler City have all passed resolutions supporting Hererra, an honors student at Jordan-Matthews High School.
Yosselin Herrera, 19 y.o. from Siler City finds out judge granted her temporary stay in the US #TWCNews #Justiceforyosselin pic.twitter.com/K1xkyIfp3g
— Vanessa Leon (@VanessaLeonTV) January 31, 2017
Happening now hundreds gathered to stand with #YOSSELINHERRERA a Chatham Co High school student who is facing deportation pic.twitter.com/9Az7dvfNP7
— NC NAACP (@ncnaacp) January 21, 2017
She is squatting here in the United States . She came here illegally, that makes her a criminal in the eyes of the law and most Americans.