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.

CARROLLTON: Maria Martinez thought she was meeting with hospital human resource officials last month to sign paperwork for a job at a private chain cafeteria located in Trinity Medical Center in Carrollton, Texas. Instead, Martinez was met by police who were waiting for her arrival, tipped off by hospital officials.

Martinez is a 40-year-old undocumented immigrant who had submitted a fake Social Security card to apply for the job. Initially when hospital officials realized that Martinez had submitted a fake card, they told her they couldn't hire her and sent her home. Yet, the next day, hospital officials called her back and reoffered her the position and told her that the documents were not needed anymore.

So Martinez, eager for work, happily returned. Only this time, she was arrested by Carrollton police who placed her in a detention facility with an immigration hold. They are charging her with tampering with government records. She faces two to 20 years in prison before being deported if she's found guilty.