After winning support from the Chicago City Council, advocates for a 21-year-old student facing deportation are turning to Illinois’ U.S. senators. We report from our West Side bureau.

The City Council on Wednesday passed a resolution that urges the Department of Homeland Security to ease up on Rigoberto Padilla, a University of Illinois at Chicago student who arrived in the United States at age 6.

Padilla came to the attention of immigration authorities in January after a first-time arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol.

His deportation is set for December 16.

Joshua Hoyt, executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, says Padilla’s best hope is for Sens. Richard Durbin and Roland Burris to contact federal officials...

HOYT: ...and say this is a case in which compassion should be shown. You have an honor student who’s been working full-time to pay his own tuition, who’s been active in the community, and he made one mistake.

Aides for Durbin and Burris didn’t make any promises Wednesday. They did rule out introducing legislation to call off the deportation.