Posts by Mo A
Today's Actions for Herta Llusho
Published August 18, 2009 @ 06:06AM PT
Updated with actions to take today, August 18, 2009.
In order of priority:
- Call Janet Napolitano, Director of Department of Homeland Security, and leave comments of support for Herta and also ask that DHS stop her deportation: 202-282-8495 **note this is an answering machine, once it is full it is out of commission for day. Fill it up now with Herta calls.
- Call Assistant Secretary to ICE, John Morton and leave a message urging him to take action and defer Herta’s deportation: 202.732.3000 **Note this is a live comment line, i.e. a human being will pick up and take your message.** Be very polite “I am calling to leave a message of support for Herta Llusho who is being deported tomorrow, <insert talking point>. I ask that Director Morton contact Field Director Vincent Clausen and defer Herta’s deportation, she is an asset to this country.”
- Call LaSal Austin, director of the local DHS in Michigan, at 313-259-8562. Urge him to take legislators’ (Senator Carl Levin and congresswoman Kilpatrick) leads and take immediate action to defer the deportation of Herta Llusho.
- Join the facebook group for immediate updates: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=111108019510
- Sign petition which will be hand-delivered to targets: http://www.change.org/actions/view/stop_deportation_of_dream_student_herta_llusho
- Use SEIU Click to Call Action Tool to call DHS: http://call.seiu.org/9/hertadhs
- Send a FAX to DHS, copy and paste talking points and send: http://action.seiu.org/writeice4herta
For the next calls you need to be very specific about your ask, these members have already voiced their support however now we need them to directly call assistant secretary to ICE John Morton and ask that he defer deportation. If the members call it will make an impact, much more than if their staff or if they call.
So the ASK: “Hi, I know that the member is in support of Herta Llusho’s struggle to stop her deportation, I am now calling to ask that the member DIRECTLY call the assistant secretary to ICE, John Morton, to ask that he stop Herta’s deportation. I know that his staff may have called someone at ICE but I am asking that the member themeselves call John Morton’s office directly. Thanks.”
- Call Senator Carl Levin at both his DC office - (202) 224-6221 – and his Detroit office - (313) 226-6020.
- Call Senator Stabenow at both her DC office – (202) 224-4822 – and her Detroit office – (313) 961-4330. **Stabenow herself will be in detroit office today, hit em up!
- Call Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick at both her DC office – (202) 225-2261 - and her Detroit office - (313) 965-9004.
Call in Script:
I am calling on behalf of Herta Llusho (A#96-139-441), an undocumented student who is facing deportation back to Albania on August 19th. Herta has lived in Detroit since she was 11, she went to Pierce Middle School and Grosse Pointe South High School. Herta excelled in everything during high school, graduating with a 4.05 gpa and she has continued to excel after high school. She has been very active in our community volunteering at homeless shelters, summer day camps, and tutoring programs, in addition to a lot of other things with her church.
Talking points to use (don’t need to use all, pick and choose):
• I’m writing to ask Michigan ICE Field Officer, Vincent Clausen to defer action on Herta Llusho’s deportation and review her case.
• Herta’s case number is A-96-139-441.
• Herta is scheduled to be deported to Albania on August 19th.
• Herta submitted a deferred action in February 2009 and it has yet to be adjudicated.
• Herta’s parents brought her to the U.S. at the age of eleven with a dream of giving her a better life.
• They worked hard to provide for Herta and raised her to believe in the American Dream. She graduated from high school with a 4.05 GPA and is a high achieving freshman at the University of Detroit Mercy school of electrical engineering.
• Herta’s story illustrates the need for Congress passing the DREAM Act. This bill would provide kids, like Herta, with a way to stay in the greatest country on earth. And Herta is exactly the kind of person the DREAM Act is intended to help.
• Kids like Herta were brought here at an age where they had no say in the matter.
• They have overcome language barriers and, in many cases poverty, to succeed.
• They include valedictorians, class presidents and other honor students. These
excellent role models should be given the chance to succeed.
• As President Obama has said in support of the DREAM Act, “these students are now children of the United States.” Herta is the kind of person that the DREAM Act is intended to help.
• Defer Herta’s deportation until Congress passes comprehensive immigration reform and the DREAM Act.
• Sen. Levin and Congresswoman Kilpatrick have already written a letter to Assistant Secretary, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) John T. Morton requesting prosecutorial discretion in Herta’s case.
On July 1st DHS deferred Walter Lara’s deportation, on July 24th DHS deferred Taha’s deportation and now, on August 19th, Herta is set to be deported to Albania. Herta has lived in Michigan for most of her teen years, this is the country that she calls home and has done everything in to make sure she succeeds, lets do our part to make sure her dream (and ours) becomes a reality!
If we are going to stop this we need everyone’s support, read Herta’s story and then call each of the targets and demand that they do something about her deportation. Then forward this on to your family and friends to do the same.
DREAMer Guest Post: Mohammed
Published January 04, 2009 @ 09:20AM PT
Mo is a DREAMer, a student who would benefit from passage of the DREAM Act. His family came to the U.S. from Iran when he was three years old.
My name is Mohammad and I am an undocumented American.
"Get in line" they like to say without realizing that many of us were at some point in this infamous line. My family immigrated to the United States from Iran when I was just three years old. At the time my dad was accepted to a university on a student visa to get his doctoral degree. After three years he completed his studies and applied for something called Optional Practical Training, essentially allowing him to extend his stay for 12 months. During that time, he would be able to continue to work and study in the same field he received his PhD in.
While still under the OPT program, he secured sponsorship from a job and applied for a change of status from OPT to an H1b visa. Rather than do this themselves my parents thought it would be better to put something this serious into the hands of an attorney. However, due to not knowing exactly where to go, they contacted the university and were referred to the international student center where there were immigration attorneys on hand. The school's immigration attorney handled all of the paperwork, my parents paid the required fee and they were told everything was set to go, or so they thought. Now mind you up until this point we all still had legal status; we were still "in line".
