You are probably right, but the article’s written so badly...I was thinking that IF her father’s a legal resident and IF she’s not yet 18, she MAY not be illegal, because a minor; but MAY become illegal at age 18.
In an ideal world I could slap a restraining order on journalists like this one. :)
Also, we let foreigners attend our colleges all the time; so it seems she should be able to file for a student visa if she gets accepted into a college.