Ice deportation son leukemia
© Associated Press/Anita SnowJesus Berrones (pictured right, seated) holds his five-year-old son, Jayden, as his wife, Sonia, looks on at the Shadow Rock United Church of Christ in Phoenix, where he has sought sanctuary to avoid deportation back to his native Mexico. Jayden was diagnosed with leukemia in 2016 and is undergoing a three-year course of chemotherapy.
An illegal immigrant has been granted a one-year stay of deportation as his 5-year-old son battles leukemia.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement granted Jesus Armando Berrones-Balderas, who lives in Arizona with his pregnant wife and five children, a one-year stay on a humanitarian basis.

His lawyer, Garrett Wilkes, told CNN that Berrones checked in with ICE every six months until he was told he would be deported in January. He then sought refuge in a Phoenix church to avoid being deported.

Wilkes said they filed the necessary paperwork for a stay of deportation, but ICE informed them last week "it was being denied."

"We couldn't get any feedback as to why it was being denied. The only response we were getting was no comment," he said.

Wilkes said they believe ICE granted the one-year stay because they provided additional documentation.

"In an exercise of discretion, ICE has granted Jesus Armando Berrones-Balderas a one-year stay of removal on humanitarian grounds," ICE told CNN in a statement Monday. "ICE issued a previous one-year stay in June 2016. Berrones-Balderas, who has received a final order of removal, remains enrolled in the agency's Alternatives to Detention program, which requires him to regularly check-in with the local ICE office."

Berrones said his 5-year-old son was happy with the news.

"He's actually happy because he knows now that I'm going to be able to go home now and be with my whole family at home," Berrones said.