Just when the Kesbeh family began to hope they could stay in this country, they learned late Friday that a congressional bill introduced on their behalf had been killed.

The Kesbehs, a Palestinian family of nine residing in West Houston, now could face deportation to Jordan as soon as Tuesday. Family members said the news Friday evening was particularly bitter because they had been led to believe earlier in the day they might win their case.

The family had planned to leave the country Friday, but Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, introduced a special bill in Congress that would have allowed the Kesbehs to stay here permanently even though eight of them are illegal immigrants.

But after raising hopes, Jackson Lee called the family late Friday to say the bill had been killed by a Republican she would not name.

Guest:

• Noor Kesbeh, 19, eldest daughter in the Kesbeh family.