In the past six years, judges have issued 1,874 deportation orders in Utah, according to the Executive Office of Immigration Review. Removal occurs in about 61 percent of cases.

Anna Navarro hopes her father isn't among them.

"It would really hurt," she said.

Her 5-year-old daughter and 19-month-old son adore their grandfather, she says. She and her children live with her parents. She is the only one of their children born in the United States.

The eight-month reprieve until the next hearing is both relief and agony. "I want them to decide soon, but I want him to stay," Anna Navarro said.

Carlos Navarro came to the United States as a migrant worker in 1973. He has spent his life working in Utah County orchards. He became a legal permanent resident in 1990.

But because of his criminal history, including domestic violence convictions in 1995 and 2002, the government has the right to reconsider his status.

Much of the recent hearing revolved around those convictions and past allegations of smuggling family members into the country. Navarro wasn't charged with a crime in those cases and denies the accusations.

At one point, Nixon admonished Navarro to carefully answer each question. "Your credibility is very much at issue here," he said.

Navarro has already decided that if he is sent back to Mexico, his wife will go with him. He said he hasn't explored cancer treatment for her there.

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