Deportation case a matter of life and death for family

ANN ARBOR, Michigan -- Jose Luis Sanchez-Ronquillo's family is living on borrowed time.

While the immigration debate plays out in Washington D.C. and on the news, authorities are sparring over whether Sanchez-Ronquillo will ever see his wife or kids again.

TONIGHT AT 10 P.M.: Mayra Moreno takes you inside the school educating the American-born children of immigrants being deported back to Mexico.

For the second time, his deportation to Mexico scheduled by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement was halted by a judge, who granted an emergency stay.

At the heart of the matter is his family, who argued they cannot support themselves without Sanchez-Ronquillo.

The father has been living and working in the U.S. for almost 20 years.

His eldest son has a medical condition treated only because Sanchez-Ronquillo works to provide the medicine he needs to stay alive, MLive.com reports.

Without his support, the boy's future is hangs in the balance.

Sanchez-Ronquillo was first detained by ICE on April 19, and was set to fly back to Mexico on April 25.

Demonstrators rallied outside ICE offices in Detroit on April 24, prompting officials to send him to an ICE facility in Louisiana.

Federal judge David M. Lawson granted a stay on his deportation on May 1.

The acting U.S. District Attorney representing ICE filed a motion eight days later, asking the deportation move forward.

Sanchez-Ronquillo's attorneys argued there was no urgency to deport him.

The flight to Mexico he should have boarded May 17 left without him. While he sits waiting for answers, his ailing son Jose does the same.

"I was just trying to know what was going on, because he didn't do anything," 14-year-old Jose said.

TONIGHT AT 10 P.M.: Mayra Moreno takes you inside the school educating the American-born children of immigrants being deported back to Mexico.

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