I guess if you are willing to talk yourself into any position, you can. There are any number of organizations that help illegals who want to gain legal status. If you ever find out that you were born in some third world shithole and snuck into the U.S. in an orange crate, just click here:
www.ilrc.org
She could have done something in all that time.
If she chose not to go to a lawyer because it seemed easier to just keep being an illegal since previous administrations didn't deport people, well that was a poor choice. But I suppose that runs in her family given that her parents immigrated illegally and put her in this position.
I would say "Well damn! I wish to hell I would have spent the past sixteen years of my adult life getting legal status, even if it meant I had to go back to Brazil to do it. First my parents fucked up by bringing me here illegally, and then I compounded the fuckup by not lifting a finger to change my status! Maybe I should have played less poker, drank less bourbon, and chased less poontang, and spent more time doing the goldarned paperwork!
"Oh well . . . I had a pretty good run for someone who isn't even supposed to be here. Brazil, huh? I heard the women there got bigger booties than even AOC! Guess I'll be fine."
That's me, looking like a grumpy old man. She's a hottie, even if her voice is off. If I looked like her, I'd be fine.
She can find an American husband on the beach and be back here in no time.
So?
No one is above the law.