Family who fled anti-Mormon, anti-American sentiment will be deported Thursday

AMERICAN FORK — An Argentine family who sought asylum in the United States from religious persecution scrambled Wednesday to stuff 10 years of their American life into a few suitcases.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement late Tuesday denied Claudio Correa's and Deborah Zalazar de Correa's petition to delay their deportation so Correa could finish treatment for hepatitis C and their son could complete high school. ICE gave them less than two days to prepare for a flight to Buenos Aires on Thursday.

Sen. Orrin Hatch intervened on the Correas' behalf to no avail. Hatch spokeswoman Heather Barney said the office explored all the options, but at this point the family has none.

The couple didn't challenge the order to leave the country but requested a six-month deferral after ICE arrested Correa at his American Fork home Oct. 22. They say they never tried to hide, paid taxes and participated in church and civic activities.

"It's very sad that they cannot have any kind of consideration," Zalazar said, her house a jumble of cardboard boxes and suitcases. "I feel hurt because we gave the country a lot of years."

Zalazar and her children, Kevin, 17, and Magali, 14, sifted through closets, drawers and shelves deciding what to take and what to leave. "I know all my friends here, and in two days, I have to say goodbye to all of them. I don't like," Magali said, sorting through a stack of books.

Boxes filled with clothes destined for a thrift store clogged the kitchen floor. Most of their possessions — cars, computers, televisions, snowboards, power tools, everything a middle-class American family would have — will be left behind and sold.

But what makes them ache most is leaving a country they embraced and tried to become part of through legal means but fell prey to bad advice and ignorance of confusing immigration laws.

"I have always tried to do the right thing," Correa said from the Utah County Jail, adding he hasn't received so much as a traffic ticket. "I never wanted to break the law. I am a victim of not following closely all immigration requirements. I trusted and I did not investigate enough, and now I'm paying the consequences."

The Correas, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, say they fled Argentina 10 years ago next month to escape anti-Mormon sentiment. They are glass artists who moved to Utah about four years ago to work on projects that reflect their deeply held religious beliefs. They contracted with a Lehi studio that does stained and etched glass for LDS Church temples and other religious and government buildings.