Undocumented Mableton Residents to Rally in Front of Obama Campaign Office
The young people, including Jesus Cruz, will demand that the Obama Administration stop the deportation of DREAM Act-eligible young people by issuing an executive order.
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Though the Obama administration has recently stated that certain "low-priority" undocumented immigrants (including immigrant youth eligible for the DREAM Act) are not a target for deportation, we have seen a dissonance between words and deeds, as favorable youth still face deportation. That is why we are now asking for an executive order to halt the deportations of students who qualify for the DREAM Act.
"We have many open cases of DREAMers here in Georgia who are facing deportation proceedings for things like driving without a license,” says Nataly Ibarra, member of DreamActivist Georgia. “Jesus Cruz is a clear example of how Prosecutorial discretion is not working and we now need the strength of an Executive Order to stop these deportations.”
Jesus Cruz, 21, is a clear example of why an executive order is urgent. Jesus has lived in the United States since the age of 11. Jesus is a recent graduate of Pebblebrook High School in Mableton, GA. He is an aspiring college student who wishes to become an immigration attorney in order to help his community. Jesus was placed in deportation proceedings for driving without a license in Cobb County, GA. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has denied his request for prosecutorial discretion twice, despite meeting all requirements and being considered low-priority for deportation.
Despite President Obama's announcement about reviewing the 300,000 deportation cases and only deporting the "worst of the worst," we continue to have Dream Act-eligible youth deported. According to Eleanor Pelta, President of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA): "The prosecutorial discretion initiative has failed…DHS has reviewed over 288,000 cases, a paltry 1.5 percent of the cases were actually granted discretion, and even those were granted only a temporary reprieve, keeping their lives completely in limbo."
"We know that President Obama has the power to issue an executive order and stop DREAM Act-eligible deportations," says Martin Lopez, another member of DreamActivist Georgia. "We demand that he use his power to take action today."
"Now is the time, now is our time, to dream with the dreamers and realize Dr. King's dream. We must stand with our young dreamers and call on President Obama to halt all deportations of DREAM Act eligible persons. The time is right and the time is now. We are calling on all Americans to stand together as we walk hand in hand toward the American Dream."
Dr. Johnny B. HillSpecial Martin Luther King Jr. Scholar In Residence The Interdenominational Theological Center of Atlanta, GA
The rally will be held at OFA-GA headquarters at 171 Auburn Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30303 at 7 p.m.
Randy Smyrna realist
9:00 am on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
This illegal executive order nonsense is really getting on my nerves. This is a constitutional republic not democracy nor monarchy!
Charles Klughart
9:11 am on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Let me see, illegal aliens who break other laws and get caught should just have authorities look the other way. And they want the President to write a order to have authorities disobey government laws. Why I am surprised that law breakers want their crimes to be ignored.
Pam J
9:21 am on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
And where will the police be? For them to just stand around and watch these people is like them watching somebody robbing somebody and not doing anything about it. I won't compare them to murderers, but it's the same concept. I understand what the DREAM act is all about. But all it does is encourage people to bring their children here illegally.
Logan K
9:49 pm on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
These are students who have lived in the US nearly their entire lives. And the DREAM Act doesn't encourage more illegal immigration--it's only a one-time deal. We shouldn't be deporting young undocumented Americans who are excelling in school and have a great deal to contribute to our society.
Tony Bennett
9:54 pm on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
First off. All undocumented immigrants should be "high-priority" The only dissonance here is the ergency to look the other way and disobey laws set forth to govern this country.
The Dreamers as they are reffered to that are facing deportation. Are being deported because they are undocumented immigrants. Other wise known to the rest of the world as illigal immigrants. If you have no documents that proves you are a legal resident. You are illegal and should be deported imediatly. There is no reason for pending cases involving deportation. You are legal or your not. The 4320 cases that have been granted a temporary repreve lives have been put in limbo by themselves because they are illegally residing in this country.
As for the example of Jesus Cruz. He has had 10 years to become a legal resident and has had 6 years to aquire a driver license. Jesus can be an aspiring college student in the country he is being deported to.
Logan K
10:13 pm on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Tony--some of these students don't even speak the language of their country of origin, let alone have any family ties or awareness of society in general. They are, in many ways, more American than native-born citizens, and they certainly are more engaged with civic activities than most.
We shouldn't hold them accountable for what their parents did. They had no say in whether or not they came to this country, and to unfairly punish them based solely on their immigration status is to infringe upon their civil rights.
My guess is that you have never interacted with the undocumented community. If you had, you would realize how hardworking and genuine these people are. These students inspire me every day, working against all adversity to survive in a system rigged against them.
prissy
10:37 pm on Thursday, June 14, 2012
You are right. Let them work for their dream and send the parents back!
Logan K
10:19 pm on Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Further, this is a fault of our immigration system, not of these students--or even their parents. Depending on the country you are coming from, it can take up to 26 years to legally immigrate through family ties. To be honest, if my family were 50 miles across some arbitrary border, I'd probably cross it, too.
As many as 1/3 of the undocumented immigrants in this country are actually in the process of legally immigrating.
Pam J
12:00 am on Friday, June 15, 2012
Tell me one country where you can just walk over the border and not be considered "illegal". Our immigration system is set up to make sure that people coming into the country have the right to work and live here on a temporary status until they can legally become citizens. Simple, really. On the news just now was a story about a girl who was here illegally for many years and was apparently sent back to Mexico. She married a U.S. citizen and she thinks that should make her legal. Nope. Somewhere along the line to becoming an adult, she should have tried to do something about becoming legal. Go back to Mexico and apply for the papers. You don't have to tell them that you have been here illegally for a long time, I wouldn't think. All of you illegal (not undocumented) alien supporters need to realize that our system is not screwed up. The system works just fine. It's the illegal aliens who are screwed up. I don't want to have to remind everybody of 9/11.
Kiri Walton
6:24 am on Friday, June 15, 2012
It seems many people are unsure exactly how "the system" works. It's doubtful that millions of people just aren't doing something simple to gain legal status. It's more likely that a path to gain legal status does not quite exist. I know several unemployed Americans who have been humbled after being unemployed for quite some time and now are accepting jobs that they usually felt were beneath them. These jobs were performed often by illegal immigrants. The unemployed Americans certainly would not be able to pick up and move to another country because they do not have the means. This could be the case for undocumented residents. It can be easy for someone who is hurting to scapegoat a group of people instead of looking at themselves. It's happened since the beginning of time. Germany was hurting economically, and they blamed Jewish people and the people who were hurting for money, jobs, food more than likely found it easier to blame the same people who were their neighbors. It's easy to demonize people or not see them as people when one is hurting themselves. Also, I am extremely confused. Are you blaming 9/11 on illegal immigrants?
Logan K
9:41 am on Friday, June 15, 2012
Pam, you must not understand how our immigration laws are written.
These undocumented immigrants cannot apply for legal status. Trust me, if they could, they would! As someone who has taken immigration law courses, I am very familiar with our current system. Under current law, once you have been in the country undocumented for at least 365 days, you face a 10-year bar from legal reentry. So if these undocumented youth want to "wait in line" and "come in the legal way," they would first have to return to their country of origin. Next, they would have to wait 10 years before they can apply. Once they apply, they have to wait until their petition becomes current. According to the State Department Visa Bulletin, wait times for a country like Mexico, for example, are currently 19 years. So to come in the legal way, Mexican students would have to return home and wait 29 years before returning. The girl you reference had nothing she could do to become legal.
Our immigration laws hinder US growth. We are no longer attracting the world's best and brightest because they cannot obtain the visas they need. In all honesty, the only way to keep our immigration laws from being broken is to change them.
Oh, and by the way--all of the 9/11 hijackers were not only legally in the country, they were welcomed by the US government.
I am afraid your ethnocentrism and xenophobia are becoming evident...
Pam J
10:43 am on Friday, June 15, 2012
I fail to understand why you want to "reward" the illegal aliens. I know some legal aliens who are here from Mexico and they say the process to come over legally is fairly easy. Now, if you are here illegally and get sent back, it's not so easy. It should be considered a priviledge to become a U.S. citizen, and there is a correct way to do that. But go ahead and try to get the 11+ million "undocumented" immigrants legalized. And just because we disagree about this issue, there is absolutely no reason to "label" me.