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Illegal immigrant with sick son to stay in U.S. for genetic testing

NEWARK, N.J., Feb. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. authorities have halted the deportation of an illegal immigrant from Honduras so he can get genetic testing to help his sick son.

Carlos Oliva-Guillen, 26, was released in Newark, N.J., Tuesday, the Star-Ledger of Newark reported. Bryan Cox, a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said his case was under review but he was still under federal supervision.

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Oliva-Guillen's 7-month-old son, Jencarlo, has a rare disease of the pancreas, hyperinsulimia. Doctors at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia say genetic testing of the father will determine whether most of the boy's pancreas needs to be removed.

Matthew Archambeault, Oliva-Guillen's lawyer, said the release was the result of outside pressure. Officials said ICE has cooperated with the family's medical issues since it was notified of them.

Emily Navas, Oliva-Guillen's girlfriend and Jencarlo's mother, said the United States, under President Obama, has become too quick to deport people.

"A lot of people are going through this and they're not speaking up," Navas, who lives in Delran in South Jersey, said. "We have to fight like a community. We have to pressure President Obama to stop deportations, to give us immigration reform."

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