Alejandra Cano is allowed to remain free but will face deportation charges

Immigration authorities in Chicago filed deportation charges against Alejandra Cano on Thursday but chose not to detain the 45-year-old as she waits for her day in court.

Cano is a single mom of two U.S. citizens and a recovering drug addict going on six years sober. She’s a legal permanent resident and has lived in the United States since she was a toddler, but property crimes she committed at the height of her addiction put her at risk of being deported.

“I’m happy I get to spend the holidays with my kids,” Cano said outside a federal building in the South Loop. “My first stop is to finally go out and buy a Christmas tree.”

She had a check-in Thursday with immigration authorities, her third after being detained by Customs and Border Protection agents at O’Hare Airport in August after visiting her father in their native Chile.

CBP agents decided not to hold Cano but issued her a notice to appear before an immigration judge March 16, the first step in deportation proceedings.

Kate Ramos, an attorney with the National Immigrant Justice Center who’s representing Cano, said her client has a strong case for keeping her legal status and avoiding deportation.

“It would be a discretionary decision by an immigration judge” to either deport Cano or let her go, “and I think everybody who knows [Cano] knows she’s rehabilitated and is a great advocate for her community. I think all of those things will go in our favor in court,” she said.

Dozens of Cano’s relatives and supporters rallied outside the CBP field office.

“I came from Chile to support my niece,” said Cano’s aunt Corina Posado. “She deserves to stay in this country and raise her sons.”

Cano’s older sister, Lorena Krug, said, “My sister hit rock bottom and brought herself back up. ... I’m relieved she’s out, but I’m worried of what might come next.”

Carlos Ballesteros/Sun-Times

Carlos Ballesteros is a corps members of Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that aims to bolster Sun-Times coverage of Chicago’s South Side and West Side.