Update: Here is a link to sign the letter that will be delivered to Homeland Security tomorrow.
(Gabacha.com)
There is no greater case in recent memory that so accurately demonstrates the absurdity and injustice of our broken immigration system than the case of Walter Lara, a youth who's family traveled to the United States when he was just three years old. Walter earned a 4.7 GPA in high school and later graduated from Miami-Dade Honors College in 2007, where he went on to pursue a career in computer technology.
But there's a problem.
Walter, by no fault of his own, is an undocumented immigrant.
And now, Walter is set to be deported right after 4th of July weekend.
Since being targeted by the federal government, Walter has been traveling around talking to members of Congress and trying to get the Department of Homeland Security to halt deportation proceedings until his case can be reviewed. Now he only has five days left, and it seems the only hope is for Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to halt a deportation that would send Walter back to Argentina, a country he has never really known.
Fortunately, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat, has drafted a letter to Napolitano requesting to pause deportation, because "he has earned the chance to live and work here and call America home."
The Service Employees International Union is also conducting a campaign to try and persuade Napolitano's department to reconsider the act of forcing Walter to leave his home:
Walter Lara is a 23 year-old honor student facing deportation on July 6, 2009. Walter’s family immigrated from Argentina when he was three years old. He has only known life as an American, and proudly declares that "the United States is my home."
U.S. Senator Bill Nelson wrote the Department of Homeland Security on Walter's behalf, requesting that they defer action on Walter's deportation because "he has earned the chance to live and work here and call America home."
Sign onto Sen. Nelson's letter and on Thursday, July 2, 2009, we will deliver Sen. Nelson's letter with your co-signature to the Department of Homeland Security.
There is no denying, from anyone who truly calls themselves progressive, that Walter is just as much an American as anyone else who is lucky enough to have a social security number.
He did not make the decision as a toddler to enter the United States. What many people may also be unaware of, is as it stands now, there is no real way for people like Walter, who are already undocumented and living in the country, to become citizens. While progressive legislation like the DREAM Act and comprehensive immigration reform would fix this situation, it cannot make a difference now when this young man's future and life are on the line.
Frankly, Walter is the kind of person I want to see in the country I call home. Despite all obstacles he has worked hard and educated himself to the betterment of society. And to deport someone like that, to a country they do not know, is in the best circumstances, cruel, and in the worst circumstances, a true abomination.
UPDATE: Voice mail boxes at DHS are full, but SEIU also has a click-call campaign here. h/t Matt Browner Hamlin