High school soccer player could be deported

OZARK, Mo. -- A soccer star from Southwest Missouri is jailed and awaiting possible deportation to Mexico.

Tobias Zuniga, an 18-year-old student at Central High School, was found to be in the country illegally after he was pulled over Wednesday because the tinting on the vehicle's windows was too dark.

Zuniga, who was a starter on the school's varsity squad, told police he has been in Springfield for five years and lives with his aunt. Before he was handed over to immigration officials, he was ticketed for driving without a license.

Classmates are trying to raise $5,000 for Zuniga's bond so he can be released until his hearing. Their parents, meanwhile, are seeking legal advice. The teen was just six weeks away from graduating.

"Tobi was really loved at our school and everyone's really concerned. We don't want to see him go," said Sophia Parker, a fellow senior and friend.

Zuniga also had the support of school officials, who said he had worked hard to learn English and to succeed in school.

"He's been a great kid here," said Central Principal Everett Isaacs.

"This is a sad deal so close to graduation."

He said he thinks other Hispanic students at the school were worried that what happened to Zuniga would happen to them. Isaacs said he didn't know how many of his students were in the country illegally.

"We're not here to say, 'Let me see your visa,"' he said. "We're just here to educate them."

Carl Rusnok, a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said he was not permitted to comment specifically on Zuniga's case, other than to confirm the teen was jailed in Christian County.

He said immigration judges have the power to release immigrants on their own recognizance, have them deported or allow them to travel home under a provision called "voluntary return." Voluntary return, unlike deportation, does not bar the individual from returning to the United States.