Activists march for deported immigrant

Several hundred immigrant-rights activists hoisted signs, waved flags and banged drums Saturday as they marched through downtown in support of Elvira Arellano, a recently deported illegal immigrant who spent nearly a year taking sanctuary in a Chicago church to avoid being separated from her U.S.-born son.

Arellano, 32, was sent back to her native Mexico last weekend after traveling to Los Angeles to attend a rally for the overhaul of U.S. immigration laws. She became an outspoken critic of laws that separate illegal immigrant parents from their legal resident children.

“It’s an effort by all immigrant rights groups to come together and re-energize the whole movement, in solidarity with Elvira,” said student Marylou Cabral, 20.