Chicago Rallies Around Student Facing Deportation

JyArete · 11-02-2009, 05:36 PM

Wow! If he can fight his drunk-driving conviction and stay, then this could open up a whole new can of worms for the Dream Act. Also, it will give hope to those Dreamers, who may or will be "imperfect".

Quote:

Chicago Rallies Around Student Facing Deportation

When Rigoberto Padilla arrived to the United States at the age of six from Mexico, he was a stranger to Chicago. Now, 15 years later and dubbed an "illegal alien," he is undergoing deportation proceedings - and Chicago has rallied around him.

Advocates say the campaign to stop Padilla's deportation is about more than just this one case. They hope the pressure applied through community activism and the Chicago City Council Human Rights Committee's plan to debate a resolution about the deportation of Padilla and other Chicago-based undocumented students like him in November 2009 will bring attention to what they consider a broken immigration system.

"There is an identity crisis for undocumented students," Padilla said in a phone interview. "There is no going back to Mexico for me because all that I have is here, but there is no moving on here in this country without the legal recognition that I am American."

The battle to pass legislation offering a path to legalization for the more than 65,000 undocumented students graduating from high school in America each year continues, while The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, sponsored by Sen. Richard Durban (D-Illinois) and Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Indiana) in 2001, is still stalled.

The DREAM Act calls for the creation of a path to legalization for students brought to America as minors. In its most recent incarnation, the bill called for temporary, legal residence to be offered to those students who had graduated from high school in America, lived in the US for at least five consecutive years, were of "good moral character" and were enrolled in college or planned to serve in the military.

Though Senator Durbin has said he will continue to push for the DREAM act as long as he "draws breath," but does not expect to see immigration reform on the table until the health care debate is resolved. Though the House has never voted on the DREAM Act as a stand-alone bill, and in 2007 it was eight votes short of overcoming a Republican filibuster, Durbin reintroduced it to both houses in March 2009, and, thus far, 101 representatives and 31 senators have co-sponsored the bill.

Undocumented students, as well as having limited job prospects, are not eligible for financial aid or credit, and those like Padilla who choose to pursue higher education do so out of pocket. The Immigration Policy Center estimates that only five to ten percent of undocumented students that graduate from high school attend university, compared to 67 percent for American citizens who enroll in university after graduation.

"I feel like we are doing what they say we should," Padilla said of his decision to attend college despite having to work two jobs to support himself, "but the legal government doesn't put up their end ... there's this huge amount of waste of talent."

Padilla, an honor student who led the Organization of Latin American Students at Harold Washington College and is now studying at the University of Illinois in Chicago, was picked up on a traffic violation on January 18, 2009. It was then ascertained that he was not a citizen, and while in Cook County Jail, he was interviewed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, and shortly after transferred to a federal prison. There he was given the option to pay bond or wear an ankle bracelet to track his movements. He left with a misdemeanor drunk-driving conviction, an ankle bracelet and a court date.

Chicago's status as a "sanctuary city," passed as an executive order in 1985 by then-Mayor Harold Washington, prohibits city employees from enforcing immigration law. Padilla and city advocates have argued that his experience shows a violation of this ordinance.

Padilla has found wide support for his fight against the deportation order in this city he considers home. US Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Illinois), state Reps. Lisa Hernandez (D) and Gregory Harris (D), along with a number of Chicago aldermen, have expressed their support for an end to deportations in conjunction with Padilla's case.

The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights said "the removal of Rigoberto Padilla is a tragedy for him, his family, and our entire community." ICIRR's Executive Director Joshua Hoyt, was with Padilla when he marched with around two dozen people to the Chicago offices of the Department of Homeland Security, calling for immigration reform this August. With them, the marchers had more than 9,000 petitions in a box with a photo of 6-year-old Padilla taped to the front.

"The Obama Administration recognizes that our immigration system is broken, yet it continues its absurd path of enforcing our current laws even more vigorously, a path that will only ruin more lives like Rigo's and tear apart more families," said Hoyt. "Our nation needs workable solutions that uphold our nation's values and move us forward together."

Padilla is now counting down the days until his scheduled deportation - December 16 he will be on a flight to Mexico, a place he has not been since the age of six. In an open letter to Senator Durbin, Padilla, who hopes to become an immigration attorney, wrote: "I consider myself American, but I have been identified as Mexican and penalized for it. I have been in this country for 15 years and have struggled to continue my education with what little I have. I feel that I am not alone in this struggle."

http://www.truthout.org/1102098

Guajardo · 11-02-2009, 06:07 PM

Drunken driving? What if he had injured/killed someone?

We all know that we should keep our noses clean and not cause any mischief because something like that will be tough to defend.

Drunken driving? Good luck.

11-02-2009, 06:30 PM

I have to agree. It's just like the girl that was going to get deported for fighting in school. Come on!! If you want to stay and this country and prove you are worth a lot for the US, you should definitely know better!

Be careful who you hang out with and what you do. We just do not have the luxuries to be going around doing whatever we want to. I can already see anti-immigration groups lining up saying: All illegals are troublemakers who just drive drunk and fight in schools, why do we want them.... when it is not so, but because of irresponsible people like this we all get blamed for it.

Not good.

trovales · 11-02-2009, 08:23 PM

Everyone has a bad chapter in their life. I know plenty of citizens and non-citizens that are dealing with DUIs. Trust me, they're no fun. What amazes me is how quickly our immigration community is to condemn and back away from supporting the larger cause.

DUIs can be fought off, and I hope this case just highlights the need for CIR and other legal protections for immigrants.

unthinkable · 08:57 PM

Um, that's a big No no. People convicted of DUI's don't deserve our support, they will only serve to undermine our cause!!!

unthinkable · 11-02-2009, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CosmicDream

I completely agree that everyone has a dark period in their life and that a DUI can be fought off. I'm not arguing any of that.

I just don't want this kid using the DREAM Act as a shield because it makes the entire DREAM population look bad. This guy is not a reflection of me, I know better than to Drink and drive. So please, don't say that I need to see the bigger picture because in actuality I am looking at the bigger picture and the bigger picture looks a lot nicer without trouble making drunk drivers.

Like I said, I feel bad for him and his family but I refuse to draw a connection between me, someone who has worked his ass off academically - has a perfect record - works to better that community, and someone who decided drunk driving.

Yes, that is exactly how I feel. The last thing I want is to be associated in the same cause with a felon and I believe I'm speaking for all of us as well.

Fish · 11-02-2009, 09:13 PM

Too bad for this kid. If you're illegal, you should stay away from all forms of activities that's gonna land you in jail. It's just too bad that his mistake had to change his whole life.

VJB2 · 11-02-2009, 09:29 PM

I feel bad for his family. I do not feel sorry for him for the drunk driving. This is NOT the situation that DREAM should be brought up in. The opposition will look at it as, "Oh look, they're trying to keep drunk driving illegal immigrants here with this!". Absolutely not.

He should be punished as anyone would.

RenzoM · 11-02-2009, 10:27 PM

If his decision making is this bad when he's undocumented, imagine if he was a citizen

trovales · 11-03-2009, 12:01 AM

It pains me to write this, but

This board seems very divided on a lot of issues, it seems. When we say "dream act" we rally around it and show our support-;until we let our critics pick the weakest of the herd and devour them alive. Then we just look back and let him get chewed up and thrown away by the system. I am disgusted. Drunk driving is a mistake, no doubt, but it's 10x easier for a citizen to drive drunk and "snag" several DUIs and not get punished so far as to get deported to another country.

This is why immigration reform is needed. To bring those in the shadows into the light.

They need you!

Forum links

Resources

Join our list

National calendar of events

February

Chicago Rallies Around Student Facing Deportation