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South Cobbers to Rally to Stop Pebblebrook Alum's Deportation

South Cobb supporters and others from around the state plan to rally this morning to prevent the deportation of Jesus Cruz, a 2010 Pebblebrook graduate.

 

The fate of one Pebblebrook High alumnus will be sealed on Monday at 9 a.m. when a judge decides whether he will be allowed to remain in the United States, where he has spent the last nine years, or if he will be deported back to Mexico, where he was born.

At 8 a.m., immediately before the immigration hearing, supporters plan to rally and hold a press conference in an effort to stop 20-year-old Jesus Cruz from being deported.

In August 2011, Cobb County Police arrested Cruz for driving without a license. As an undocumented resident, he cannot legally obtain a driver’s license in Georgia.

Cruz was transferred to Stewart Detention Center, placed under an ICE hold and released once his family raised enough money for his $7,500 bond.

If deported, Cruz will be separated from his mother and siblings who live in South Cobb.

The DREAM Activist Network asked supporters to petition call and email Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano.

Members of the organization argue that Cruz is DREAM Act-eligible and cannot be deported.

The DREAM Act, bipartisan legislation supported by the Obama Administration but not passed by Congress, would create a path to citizenship for undocumented residents. Under the act, undocumented residents could stay in the country if they meet four main requirements, which are:

a)    entering the United States before the age of 16,

b)   five years of continuous presence in the U.S.,

c)    graduating high school or receiving a GED,

d)   and having good moral character and no criminal record.

During the first six years, undocumented residents who are DREAM Act-eligible would be granted a conditional resident status. However, after that time and upon the completion of two years of college or military service, undocumented residents could apply for permanent resident status.

In October, President Barack Obama announced that deportation cases would be heard on a case-by-case basis and non-criminal or "low-priority" undocumented residents would be eligible for permanent residency and work permits. Additionally, in what is now called the Morton Memo, Morton suggested ICE officials consider DREAM Act eligibility when prosecuting or deporting aliens.

Obama's announcement came as a reaction to harsh criticism from many Latino groups who point out that Obama's support of immigration reform is not reflected in the deportation numbers. In 2010, the Obama deported 393,000 people, with an overall record far exceeding those deported during George W. Bush's presidency, according to the Huffington Post.

However, Cruz supporters argue that his deportation would contradict both Obama's announcement and the Morton Memo.

While Georgia’s state Senate recently passed Senate Bill 458, which would bar all undocumented residents from attending any public college or university in Georgia, California recently passed its own version of the DREAM Act and colleges such as the University of California at Berkeley have created DREAM scholarships.

Related Topics: DREAM Act, DREAM Activist, Jesus Cruz, SB 458, and Undocumented and unafraid

Pam J

9:26 am on Monday, March 12, 2012

What about his mother and siblings? Are they undocumented or are they here legally?

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Kiri Walton

10:00 am on Monday, March 12, 2012

I don't yet have this information, but I will make sure to include it in the follow-up story.

Charles Klughart

11:29 am on Monday, March 12, 2012

Did they have insurance on the car he was illegally driving. What would the status of anyone injured if he had had a wreck been. Is anyone concerned over the loss of money or injury from unlicensed drivers. Has he made any attempts to gain citizenship. Is he working, and if so where ( since that would be illegal for the business to hire him)

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Kiri Walton

2:09 pm on Monday, March 12, 2012

I will also try to get this information as well, Charles.

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Pam J

10:02 pm on Monday, March 12, 2012

I think you have hit the nail on the head with that question. I don't see how you could get insurance unless you have a driver's license. Unfortunately if someone without insurance hits you, your insurance will probably pick it up, but it will count against you. Driving without a license is one thing, driving without insurance is another. Very, very good point and question.

Rev. Lionel R. Gantt

11:46 am on Monday, March 12, 2012

I must add that it is not the President directly who has deported these record numbers of people from the U.S., his goal to make our boarders safe/ but state laws that were passed local laws, and state and local law enforcement commanded to step up law enforcement in these areas that cause this. Now they check out immagration in the jails and make arrest / traffic stops racially profiling those driving - as it was found that large numbers did not have driver lic. are documentation. The truth is this is very unsafe and cause a great problems in cases of injuries and property loss and we all know this is true. Lets look at both sides. How would you feel if you lost a loved one or a car and there was no lic drive no insurance and no way to recover your losses. As law enforcement officers it is their duty to help keep our city streets safe for all. I do not believe that police are riding around looking for people just to deport them. I say do everything in your power to become residents and citizens , education is the key, each one reach one with helpful information to all of our citizen with the paper work needed to make positive change in our community. The Morton Memo and the Dream Act is a step in the right direction.

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Rev. Lionel R. Gantt

11:47 am on Monday, March 12, 2012

Marching and protesting is good, but as I have said before to Immagrations organizations "When you are ready for real direct action, Boycotts - stop doing and stop going to work, stop buying the products and stop playing into the economic mind set that you are any less a people because of your immagration status / everyone who ever came to this Nation came as you did looking to build a new life, everyone but my people (Black People) who were enslaved to build the economy of the Nation - If you Boycot directly affecting the economy - then you will break this system of injustice and change America for the good". This is me speaking, not the offical words from Cobb SCLC or the SCLC National. / Rev Lionel Gantt SCLC Stop the Violence and Incarceration.

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Billy Quinton

3:11 pm on Monday, March 12, 2012

illegal means you are not lega
we have laws in this country
get legal or leave
we all have to abide by the rule of law and stop making this a racial or bias issue

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