Sign Alonso's Petition, Stop His Deportation

by Dave Bennion

categories: Advocacy and Activism, DREAM Act, Immigration Reform

Published August 20, 2009 @ 10:41PM PT

Alianza Student Organization has featured a story about another DREAM Act-eligible student who is about to be deported, Alonso Chehade.  Please take a moment to sign the petition to stop his deportation.

We could read different stories like Alonzo's and Herta's every day for the next year and still there would be millions of Dreamers living in the shadows.  What good does it accomplish to use government resources to deport them one by one, ripping apart families and demoralizing communities?  That is why Alonso's call to DHS to put a hold on the deportations until the DREAM Act can be voted on is so important (see his video statement below).

Alonzo's story is both compelling and potentially heartbreaking, like those of the many Dreamers I have met online and offline.  The Dreamers and the movement they built from the ground up, with very little outside support, is a constant source of inspiration and positive energy for me.  It gives me hope that other migrant groups like deported veterans, separated families, and LGBT migrants (none of these groups being mutually exclusive) will be able to build forward momentum as the Dreamers have.  I had not felt this sense of hope until quite recently, and I don't feel I am exaggerating when I say I can feel it is changing my life for the better.

Alonso was brought to the United States from Peru when he was 14 years old. Eight years later, he is being deported for reasons we cannot comprehend. On March 14, 2009, Alonso and a friend went to visit some friends at Western Washington University and rather than driving back home late at night they decided to stay at their friends ' place. The next morning, not being familiar with the area they took a wrong turn on the highway and ended up near the Canadian Border. Alonso was stopped by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities and when it was discovered that he was undocumented, he was arrested and jailed for 2 weeks. He is set to be deported on September 25th with a flight ticket scheduled for September 17 to a country he barely knows.

Alonso has lived in the United States for 8 years. He has never had any problems with the law. All he ever wanted to do was to go to school and have a successful career - but our country's laws prevented him from continuing his career path after he graduated from the University of Washington. It would be a disservice to both him and to our country's values to deport him.

We urge you to immediately take action to stop the deportation of Alonso by singing the petition below.

We, as leaders and allies to the grassroots youth movement:

1- UNDERSTAND that Alonso’s story is just one of numerous others, and we should not have to save each one of them case by case, because unfortunately, many end up falling through the cracks.

2- RECOGNIZE the urgency in passing a private bill that would allow this American to stay in the country where he has been shaped.

3- WILL PUSH for the enactment of the DREAM Act (H.R.1751 and S.729) now!. It is the key piece of legislation and it is of utmost importance to millions of undocumented students like Alonso currently living in the shadows.

4- DEMAND a meeting with the Department of Homeland Security to halt all deportations of those eligible for the DREAM Act. If we continue our ruthless raids and senseless deportations, the DREAM Act will not be able to save those who need it most.