DALLAS — María Martínez, the woman who was arrested for using a false Social Security card when she applied for a job in a cafeteria located in a local hospital, opted to return to Mexico though she had a good chance of staying in the United States.

Martinez' daughter said that her mother signed the papers to be voluntarily deported back to her native state of Jalisco in Mexico without consulting her lawyer or relatives and was pressured by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials to sign the papers.

The daughter said that her mother suffered from pneumonia and doesn't tolerate cold places like the holding cells. The ICE officials told her mother that if she didn't sign the papers she would spend a long time in those cells even though her lawyer attested to the fact that Martinez' immigration hearing was to be held in less than a week.

Martinez' lawyer further stated that Martinez was in the process of gaining legal residency and had no prior criminal record and would have been able to receive bail and could have prevented her deportation.

Yet, because Martinez voluntarily deported she may have ruined any chance to legalize her residency.