2 sisters benefit from shift in policy
Clean records got deportation orders dismissed
By SUSAN CARROLL
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Aug. 27, 2010, 7:02AM

Maria del los Angeles Rodriguez is a UH student who was brought to the U.S. when she was 6. She's happy but says she's "not celebrating until I have papers."



Last week, Maria De Los Angeles Rodriguez walked through the double doors of Houston 's immigration courthouse, heading upstairs to a cramped courtroom for her third immigration hearing.
The 28-year-old University of Houston student was trying not to get her hopes up too much. She had good reason to be optimistic. A week before, the government had terminated her younger sister's deportation proceedings in a separate case. But still, she thought, it might not happen to her.
As she sat quietly in the courtroom, the government's attorney asked the judge to dismiss her case. The judge agreed, and within minutes her case was terminated. The judge told her she would not have to come back unless she committed a crime, she said.
"It happened so quickly," said Rodriguez, an illegal immigrant whose parents brought her to the U.S. when she was 6 years old.
She felt a huge sense of relief...link to complete article