Student gets deportation reprieve

Immigration officials Thursday gave a temporary reprieve to a Stony Brook University student who faces deportation to Bangladesh after spending most of her life in the United States.

Nadia Habib of Woodside, who is studying to become a pharmacist, told a rally of about 150 students at Federal Plaza in Manhattan that officials are conducting a priority review of her case but agreed to stay her deportation.

Habib, who was brought to the United States by her parents when she was a year old and never had her immigration status regularized, said she will turn 20 Friday.

"It's a great birthday present," she said. "It's the biggest gift I can get, to live the life I want to live."

Habib's father, a Queens taxi driver, has a green card, but his daughter and his wife Nazmin both face deportation for failing to clear up their status since arriving in 1993.

Early yesterday morning, both women brought luggage with them to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices in case their deportation hearing didn't go well. "I'm scared," the girl said as she entered.

Habib's lawyer, Aygul Charles, said yesterday's action could be short-lived, allowing her and her mother to go on with their lives while ICE considers their request for "deferred action" status -- assurance by the agency that removal won't be pursued for a longer period of a year or more.

Until a decision on that request, her future is unsettled. "I'm really grateful for this stay," Habib said. "But I'm nervous."

The case surfaced just weeks after President Barack Obama said he wanted to focus resources on deporting criminals, repeat violators and recent arrivals, not longtime law-abiding citizens. Public officials have leaped to Habib's defense and Thursday praised the ICE reprieve.

A spokesman for Rep. Tim Bishop (D-Southampton) said he was "pleased." Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in a statement called Habib "just one of many examples of young students who are yearning for a shot at the American dream and want to contribute to the only country they have ever known as their home."

While some details of Habib's story remain unclear -- such as the basis on which she and her mother were admitted in 1993 -- her dilemma has touched a chord among other students living in the limbo of undocumented status.

"Nadia represents all of us," said Julia Perez, 20, a Stony Brook student attending the rally Thursday. "We are poor and come from working-class families who have strived to get an education . . . but at the same time we live in a hopeless state."

An ICE spokesman said the agency is not allowed to talk about the case of an individual who has not signed a waiver of privacy form, and declined to comment.

With Maria Alvarez and John Valenti