DailyPundit links to the Des Moines Register story "After arrest, teen faces deportation":

Karina Ventura skipped class last week and now faces deportation to Mexico.

Educators and activists were livid that Ventura, a sophomore at Des Moines Lincoln High School, was arrested for trespassing at Hoover High School and lying about her name. Police said the officer who charged her already was under investigation for her treatment of Latino students...

"I'm really nervous," Ventura said before her release from jail Thursday night. "I want to go home. I feel sad because I want to keep going with my school. I don't understand how they could do this to a student..."

Numerous local advocacy organizations, agencies and individuals were outraged that Ventura faces such dire consequences over misdemeanor charges...

Community leaders, including schools Superintendent Eric Witherspoon and U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley, were working to help the girl, although advocates said her chances of staying in the United States were slim.

Said Witherspoon, "We're going to see if there's any way we can intervene on behalf of this young woman."

...[In another case], attorney Jim Benzoni, later requested a U.S. Justice Department probe of alleged racial discrimination at Central Campus...

Ventura's chances of remaining in the country seem grim. Friday's efforts by community leaders that led to a tearful reunion with her mother and four sisters may be only a soft landing onto a rough road ahead...

Perhaps, to save a bit of money, the Des Moines Register should just have one of those illegal immigration advocacy groups write these stories for it; the result would probably be the same, and they'd probably do it for free.

Perhaps someone should also point out that not only is the student in the U.S. illegally, apparently her family is as well. And, any attempt to assist her staying here would appear to be a violation of U.S. laws.

Of course, reading a bit further we see this:

"Before the immigration judge, she can request voluntary departure," which would give Ventura a certain amount of time to leave the country. A person who is deported, which is involuntary, faces felony charges if he or she returns to the United States.

In other words, if she doesn't just go underground, she'll be back. That should give the bleeding hearts and soft minds of Des Moines some comfort.

You can send a message to Sen. Grassley here, and the email addresses for the editors of the DMR can be found here.