Last Wednesday morning, María Gabriela Pacheco, originally from Ecuador, awoke to the news that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency was looking for her. ICE reportedly wanted to verify her and her family’s legal status.

Her parents, Gustavo and María de Fátima, her sisters Érika, 27, and María, 26, and her brother Enrique, 20, run the risk of being deported, having arrived in Florida in 1993 with tourist visas. The family’s lawyer claims that this threat is a retaliation for the family’s activism.

The case, which has won the hearts of Miami’s Latino community, has become well-known because of an article published by The Miami Herald on Monday, which paints Gabriela as a model student.

Gustavo Pacheco is a Christian pastor from Guayaquil who has become a spiritual leader for many undocumented immigrants in Florida. His daughter Gabriela, 21, is a dedicated youth activist who defends the rights of children of the undocumented.

“What we have been able to determine is that my daughter’s activism has been the cause,” said the pastor.

“She and my son have student visas. The rest of us cannot become legal; we’re waiting for a religious visa,” added Pacheco.

The family was arrested on Wednesday and set free the same day, but the deportation process has begun. According to Érika Pacheco, an immigration agent told her, “You can thank your sister for this,” says the Miami Herald article. According to ICE, the agents came to the house looking for a fugitive, but found the undocumented family instead.

The Pacheco’s lawyer, Ira Kurzban, called the act “selected persecution.” Quoted by the Herald, Kurzban promises that the family will sue the government for encroaching on their freedom of expression.

Gabriela studies music and has a merit scholarship at Miami Dade College. Last year she was elected president of the Florida Junior and Community Colleges Association. She has organized marches in favor of free education for immigrant students who have been in the country for several years.

Gustavo Pacheco held a vigil in Avon Park last weekend to protest a law that could fine those who provide jobs or housing to undocumented immigrants. He was one of the activists in the May 1 marches this year, which ended in the Orange Bowl in Miami, where he opened the ceremony with a prayer.

No immediate date has been set for the hearing with the immigration judge.

“We work, pay our taxes, and obey the law. Our lawyer thinks we can qualify for a visa,” says Pacheco.