Recently in Migrant Youth Category

No filibuster can derail this train, Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins will not stand in the way of GIR this time. Even industry lobbyists are sitting out this fight ... they know their time is better spent elsewhere.

And don't miss last month's update on GIR 2010.

I'm in the San Francisco Public Library waiting for my flight back to Boston after an incredible retreat with dreamactivist.org.  I used the retreat as an opportunity to experiment with uploading live video from my phone through qik.com/kyledeb.  Folks following my youtube and twitter accounts would have seen the videos automatically uploaded.  I still have lot's to learn about uploading quality and entertaining live video.  As such, all of my videos need work and there's something wrong with the last two, but here's one that gives you a good sense of what the retreat was like:



Nativists should be shaking in their boots.  The migrant youth movement is growing stronger and stronger.  The United We Dream Network is consolidating, and Dreamactivist.org just sent out our first email through our brand spanking new powerful action center. Fired up! Ready to Go!

Jorge-Alonso Chehade is still in the United States, but the struggle is not even close to being over.  Please continue to call for Jorge-Alonso using the following link:

http://call.seiu.org/9/call4alonso

I've written three posts on Jorge-Alonso's case (1 2 3).  While I wish I could provide more of an update in this post, all I can really say is that everyone's calls are working, but that it is still not over.  The legal details as to why Jorge-Alonso has been able to stay are still unclear, but what is clear is that Jorge-Alonso's only remaining hope continues to be U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray.  I'll let Jorge-Alonso explain it to you himself:

UPDATE: Use SEIU's click-to-call tool to contact Senators Cantwell and Murray:

http://call.seiu.org/9/call4alonso

Jorge-Alonso Chehade has one last chance to stay in the U.S. before he is forcefully removed from the United States, tomorrow.  U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) have to submit a private bill on his behalf. 

As of now, 2,598 people have joined a Facebook group in support of Jorge-Alonso; 2,856 people have signed a petition on Jorge-Alonso's behalf;  5,169 people have sent faxes to the Department of Homeland Security, can all of you make two more calls?  If you've never called a U.S. Senator before in your life, now is the time. 

• Call Senator Patty Murray at 202-224-2621
• Call Senator Maria Cantwell at 202-224-3441

It looks as if Jorge-Alonso Chehade will be staying in the U.S. for at least a little while longer after Representative Jim McDermott (D-WA) filed a last-minute private bill for Jorge-Alonso.  Please call McDermott to thank him for standing up for Jorge-Alonso.  According to McDermott's website the numbers for McDermott are:

D.C. Office: 202-225-3106
Seattle Office: 206-553-7170

While I wish we could claim this as a victory, the truth is that there is still much that has to be done for Jorge-Alonso.  This is true of so many unauthorized youth that lead individual campaigns to stop their own deportations.  The only real relief for youth like Jorge-Alonso is the passage of the DREAM Act now -- not tomorrow or the day after.

It is way past time that I wrote about Jorge-Alonso Chehade.  Jorge-Alonso is the fourth of a group of courageous unauthorized migrant youth who have led campaigns to stop their own deportations. 

First there was Walter Lara, then there was Taha, then there was Herta Llusho.  All of their deportations were extended due in great part to the social media efforts of dreamactivist.org, SEIU, the broader pro-migrant blogosphere, and the increasing support of the progressive blogosphere.

With only 36 hours left before Jorge-Alonso is forced to leave the United States, he needs all the support he can get, and he is asking everyone to do just one thing, send a fax to DHS on his behalf.

Send a fax to DHS at @ http://action.seiu.org/page/speakout/dontdeportalonso

Jorge-Alonso Chehade - The Sanctuary (19 September 2009)

Almost 2,000 supporters have sent faxes to DHS, already, can we make that 5,000?

Update: Send a fax to DHS in support of Alonso here.

Alonso Chehade is due to be deported this Friday, September 25 (his plane ticket is set for the 24th). He recorded the message above last week in honor of Citizenship Day. Alonso is one of the most motivated and determined people I have ever known. He refuses to sit and wait for something everyone told him was inevitable: his own deportation. Senators Cantwell and Murray, as well as the SEIU, have stepped up to help Alonso. Will you? Please sign this letter on Alonso's behalf to ICE at the SEIU's website.

Alonso wrote his story at the Sanctuary a few weeks ago:

I was brought to the United States from Peru when I was 14 years old. Eight years later, I am being deported for reasons I cannot comprehend. On March 14, 2009, a friend and I went to visit some friends at Western Washington University and rather than driving back home late at night we decided to stay at our friends' place. The next morning, not being familiar with the area we took a wrong turn on the highway. By the time we noticed we were heading north rather than south, there was one more exit to turn around before the border. This was blocked by construction which left us no choice except to enter Canada and turn around behind the port of entry to return to the United States. I was stopped by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities and when it was discovered that I was undocumented, I was arrested and jailed for 2 weeks. I am set to be deported on September 25th to a country that I barely know.

I have lived in the United States for 8 years. I have never had any problems with the law. All I ever wanted to do was to go to school, work, have a normal life and help others. Unfortunately because of a broken immigration system I am being prevented from continuing my life and career path after I graduated from the Michael G. Foster School of Business at the University of Washington.

Unless you step up and help there is little hope that I won't be deported on September 25. I humbly urge you to immediately take action to stop my deportation.

Please use the SEIU's click to fax tool to co-sign send this letter to DHS on Alonso's behalf. Time is running out!

Herta is still set to be deported, so we still need to write letters in support of her.  I will write more about that later, but for now I will just post this press release:

For Immediate Release
19 August 2009

Contact:
Mohammad Abd, dreamactivist.org: 734-262-9705
Ali Jost, SEIU: 202-730-7159

 

After Days of Intense Congressional and Grassroots Activism...

DHS Grants Detroit Honor Student Extension on Deportation to Albania

Activists Continue Pressuring DHS to Extend Herta Llusho's Stay Until Passage of DREAM Act and Federal Immigration Reform

Detroit, MI - Today, after days of activism by Senator Carl Levin, Representative Carolyn Kilpatrick and thousands of grassroots activists, the Department of Homeland Security granted 19-year-old Detroit honor student, Herta Llusho, a temporary extension of her deportation to Albania. Originally planned for August 19, DHS has extended the deportation date until November 9, allowing a growing, national network of activists to continue to push for a more permanent extension for Llusho.

Marissa Graciosa of the Fair Immigration Reform Movement was asked to write a letter in support of Herta Llusho.  You can download a copy of her letter here (pdf).  The text of her letter is below:

Dear Secretary Napolitano,

A bright, deserving student from Detroit is about to be deported, and we implore you to act to
stop this injustice.

Frank Sharry of America's Voice was asked to write a letter in support of Herta Llusho.  You can download a copy of his letter here (pdf).  The text of his letter is below:

Secretary Janet Napolitano
Department of Homeland Security
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528

Dear Secretary Napolitano:

I am writing to support deferral and review of Herta Llusho's deportation order. She is scheduled for deportation on August 19, 2009.