The mother of a 4-year-old boy claimed in a lawsuit Thursday that the U.S. government will break up her family if she is deported to Haiti.

        Magalie Jean Louis had been living in Dayton, Ohio, before her arrest in Cincinnati three months ago on immigration charges. She has been in jail ever since.

        She is married to a U.S. citizen and was attempting to apply for permanent-resident status when she was taken into custody by the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

        According to her lawsuit, Ms. Louis was deemed deportable because a judge had denied her application for asylum three years ago.

        She argues that her deportation would violate international law because it would cause “extreme hardship and irreparable harm” to her family.

        “The impact that the deportation of the mother would have is profound,” said Ms. Louis' attorney, Firooz Namei.

        “We're saying that international norms would not allow the government to break up and destroy a family,” he said.

        INS officials could not be reached for comment Thursday.

        The lawsuit is unusual because it relies solely on international law, rather than U.S. law.

        Mr. Namei said U.S. laws are silent on the issue of breaking up a family.

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