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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Guatemalan woman facing deportation spent Christmas night at Salt Lake City's airport before flying back to her native country with her four young children after months of failed efforts to win her a reprieve to stay in the U.S.
Maria Santiago Garcia flew out early Tuesday morning from Salt Lake City International Airport.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports about 20 of Garcia's friends and supporters saw her off, carrying signs that read "No person is illegal" and "Keep families and communities together."
Santiago Garcia has been in America for 15 years and says she's worried about violence and a lack of opportunities in Guatemala.
U.S. records indicate she entered the country illegally in 2004.
She was first ordered to leave in 2006 but given a delay. She has tried to win a stay of deportation but was denied.
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