In Waukegan, Illinois, a school board decision has led to the termination of an employee over a delay in renewing her Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status. This decision has stirred up discussions and concerns within the community.
Guadalupe Ceja Hernandez, 33, was seeking support from her union to be placed on unpaid leave while awaiting a change in her immigration status. However, the Waukegan School Board opted for a different course of action, leading to her dismissal.
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School board member Rick Riddle commented on the matter, stating, “It is not personal. We have to follow the law, and we have to take the action that is best for our district.”
With a vote of five to one, the board decided to terminate Ceja Hernandez, who had been employed as a communications specialist in District 60 for six years.
“I’m very devastated,” expressed Ceja Hernandez. “I’m not losing my hope. I’m not losing my faith, but I really had hope it was going to turn out to something better.”
Ceja Hernandez, who lives with spina bifida, was brought to the United States from Mexico as an infant by her undocumented parents. She has been a DACA recipient since 2012, a status that permits her to stay in the country provided she renews it every two years.
“She’s turned everything in on time. Her lawyer has said she’s worked on everything. They’re working on anything. They’ve expedited it. They’ve done all the things they’re supposed to do,” said Waukegan Professional Support Staff Council President Linda Unda.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services says it “adjudicate[s] the majority of DACA renewal requests within 120 days.”
But the National Immigration Law Center reports that under the Trump administration, some applications have taken six months or longer.
“The Trump administration is deliberately delaying the adjudication of DACA renewal applications,” said Kalman Resnick, an attorney for the Illinois Federation of Teachers.
Ceja Hernandez’s renewal has been pending since December.
“There’s really nothing I can do but wait,” Ceja Hernandez said.
Though they fired Ceja Hernandez, some board members say they hope to see her again.
“Once this does happen, and she gets her papers, she’s coming back to work,” one said.
Without a job, Ceja Hernandez says she has no health insurance and will now likely have to pay out of pocket for her medical treatments.
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