TOLEDO, Ohio — In any American town, you'll usually find a diner just like City Limits Diner in Tecumseh.
It's the place where a politician will sidle up to the counter next to the mailman and where the waitress is called "Hun."
It's a family, and the family at City Limits is in jeopardy of losing one of its own.
America Beltran, 22, and her family moved to Tecumseh from Mexico when she was one year old.
"She's called a 'dreamer' because she was brought here when she was one year old," said Judy Bishop, a waitress at the restaurant.
Beltran grew up bouncing around the booths of City Limits, graduating from Tecumseh High School in 2020 and working at the diner alongside her parents and Bishop.
"She's a sweetheart, she's always helpful, she helps anyone here, even if it isn't her job," Bishop said. "She goes out of her way to go help clean a table."
In June of 2023, Beltran was arrested for driving under the influence. No one was hurt, but according to Bishop, a Detroit immigration judge decided she should go to jail and face possible deportation back to Mexico.
Beltran has been in a Battle Creek jail for seven weeks, about 30 minutes east of Kalamazoo.
"We're trying to get her bonded out of jail, but they say she's a danger to our community to let her out," Bishop said.
Beltran's dad, Ricardo, is a cook at the restaurant. He said he talks to her every day.
"She's sad. She cries all the time because she misses her family, her mom, me and her brothers, too," he said.
He and Bishop admit that Beltran did not continue with protocol to become an American citizen, but she hopes to restart that process.
Customers are donating money and Bishop is organizing a spaghetti dinner to pay for Beltran's bond. The dinner will be on March 11 from 4-8 p.m. at the Tecumseh American Legion on Evans and Pottawatamie streets. Adults pay $15 and children 12 years old and younger pay $10. Dine-in and carryout will be offered.
"I appreciate Judy, and the diner that supports me and my family and my daughter, especially for my daughter," Ricardo said.
In a way, Beltran is a daughter to the customers and coworkers at City Limits, and they're fighting to keep her home, too.
"It's just not right," Bishop said. "She's not a criminal."
Beltran's immigration attorney, Mayra Lorenzana-Miles, told WTOL 11 that she's happy to talk about her case but she is currently on vacation.
Beltran's loved ones hope to raise enough money at the spaghetti dinner on top of donations already collected to get her out of jail at her bond hearing on March 13.
She will then have to win her appeal to the U.S. Board of Immigration to avoid being deported.
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