Runaway teen wrongfully deported

DALLAS, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- A Texas mother is working to get her 15-year-old daughter home after she was deported to Colombia by mistake in April.

"I'm flabbergasted," said the teenager's mother, Johnessa Turner.

Turner said her daughter, Jakadrien, ran away in November 2010, WFAA-TV, Dallas/Fort Worth, reported Wednesday.

In April, Jakadrien was arrested in Houston for theft. She gave police a false name when she was taken into custody, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement said. Not even the teen's defense attorney knew her real name.

Immigration officials said they tried to verify her identity through fingerprints and database searches, but nothing raised a red flag.

ICE officials told The Washington Post Jakadrien Turner told police her name was Tika Lanay Cortez and that she was an adult from Colombia, in the United States illegally.

"Historically, there have been instances where ICE has seen cases of individuals providing inaccurate information regarding who they are and their immigration status." ICE said in a statement.

ICE said individuals sometimes provide false information "for ulterior motives."

Family members said immigration officials can say all they want, but ultimately they deported a U.S. citizen who doesn't speak Spanish to Colombia, where she knows no one, WFAA-TV.

"She was a mature girl, but Jakadrien was a good girl," Johnessa Turner said. "She was responsible, respectful, started going through regular teenage things."

The Colombian government won't release Jakadrien, although many government officials are working to expedite her return.

The NAACP and other civil rights leaders are scheduled to brief President Barack Obama and the Congressional Black Caucus Thursday on the case.

"Something definitely has to change," Johnessa Turner said.