Judge grants bond for Crystal Lake Central High School student facing deportation

A Crystal Lake Central High School student could return home Thursday after spending four months in an immigration detention center battling deportation to Honduras.

Meydi Guzman was granted bond Wednesday morning when she made a brief federal court appearance by video in Cook County, one of her attorneys, Nathan Reyes said.

The 18-year-old's school counselor, Sara Huser, has since notified U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of her intent to post Guzman's $2,000 bond, which should secure the teen's release as early as Thursday. Huser, who speaks fluent Spanish, also has offered to take in Guzman and care for her while she's out on bond.

For Guzman, that means returning to school and hopefully staying on track for graduation, said Huser who video chatted with Guzman after court Wednesday.

"On the video, she was jumping up and down she was dancing around," Huser said. "She is absolutely beyond thrilled. She just is elated."

Guzman and her father, Fabio Guzman-Reyes, left Honduras in 2018 after a group of gang members sexually assaulted her, according to Guzman's attorneys.

The Northwest Herald generally does not print the names of sexual assault victims. Guzman, however, has granted her attorneys, Kevin Bruning and Nathan Reyes, permission to share her story.

According to documents filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Guzman-Reyes was stopped by a border patrol agent June 18, 2018, after wading through the Rio Grande River.

The father and daughter were subsequently released on their promise to return to court for regular immigration hearings, and they did, up until Feb. 28, her attorneys said.

A possible mix-up in scheduling paperwork caused Guzman and her father to miss a Feb. 28 hearing in Chicago, Reyes and Bruning said. Their case was then continued to Oct. 16, and when Guzman and her father returned to court, they were arrested.

Reyes and Bruning have since filed a petition for asylum on Guzman's behalf and asked that a judge dismiss the order for Guzman's deportation.

"Basically right now we’re in as good a position as we can hope," Reyes said after court on Wednesday.

Guzman, who remained in a Pulaski County immigration detention center Wednesday, has a full day ahead of her when she returns to Crystal Lake. A Gofundme page benefiting Guzman reached more than $10,000 in donations by Wednesday afternoon, surpassing its $8,000 goal.

"We’re going to go to lunch, go shopping ..." Huser said. "My goal is to have a fun day and I told her that."