By Jasmine Aspinall and Adam Peck

An undocumented Stony Brook University junior is facing deportation following notification from the Department of Homeland Security that she and her mother would be sent back to their native Bangladesh by September 29.

Nadia Habib, a psychology major, was notified on September 10 that she and her mother Nazmin, both undocumented immigrants, would be forced by the Department of Homeland Security to return to Bangladesh after almost two decades in the United States. The rest of her family, including three younger brothers who were born here, are legal residents and are not in danger of being deported.

“It just hit me out of nowhere. My mom gave me a phone call,” said Habib. “I came here as a baby. It’s not like I’m a criminal, I haven’t broken any laws.”

The news was met with shock and solidarity on the part of friends and student activists on campus.

Juliana Perez, a member of the Social Justice Alliance, has dealt closely with helping Habib in her efforts to rally support.

“We contacted the New York State Youth Leadership Council, who deals closely with the Dream Act,” said Perez, “and Dr. Tonjanita Johnson has really helped in pointing us to the right people who will show the most support to the issue.”

But close friends to Habib are still outraged by the immediacy and lack of sentiment from the Department of Homeland Security.

“It’s like they don’t care,” said Alison Verastequi, a linguistics major at Stony Brook. “She should be given a chance to at least graduate.

The university was briefed on Nadia’s situation over the last few days, and has taken steps to help Nadia and her family.

“Leadership in the Office of Student Affairs and in the President’s Office have been communicating regularly with Nadia since learning about her circumstances and reviewing the issue in detail,” said university spokeswoman Lauren Sheprow on Friday afternoon. “In this case, we contacted Congressman Bishop’s office and the offices of Senator Kristen Gillibrand and Senator Chuck Schumer, putting the student in touch with the appropriate representatives in Federal Government.”

The offices of Senators Schumer and Gillibrand were not immediately available for comment, although staff members stressed that both support the federal DREAM Act.

The DREAM Act, first introduced by the Department of Homeland Security, outlines that undocumented persons are eligible for citizenship if they have lived in the country for at least six years and have attended a four year college or served in the military for at least two years.

The House of Representatives passed the DREAM Act in December 2010 but the Senate failed to pass the bill on December 18, with Democratic supporters unable to secure enough Republican votes to overcome a filibuster.

Habib spent Friday filling out documents needed to request a deferment from the Department of Homeland Security. She is working closely with the New York State Youth Leadership Council on the legal aspects of the case.

The Department of Homeland Security’s Immigrations and Customs Enforcement division is in the midst of adapting to new directives from President Obama, who last month announced that he would be curbing deportations of students that would be eligible for the DREAM Act protections.

That should include Nadia Habib, but according to a senior Department of Homeland Security official, the new policy is not yet in effect.

“Because the working group is in the midst of designing the process for reviewing cases, no individual cases have been administratively closed or otherwise affected by the policy,” said the official. “While the working group undertakes its efforts, immigration law will continue to be enforced as it was before the announcement.”

That’s bad timing for Habib, who will be escorted out of the country at 11:00am next Thursday unless she secures a deferment.

According to Sonia Guinansaca of the NYSYLC, a decision on the deferment could come as soon Monday.