Dallas immigration activist booted from Obama event after promises to speak about Frisco deportee

1:45 PM Mon, Aug 09, 2010 | Permalink
Jessica Meyers/Reporter

Dallas immigration activist Ralph Isenberg found himself uninvited to a Highland Park fundraiser with President Barack Obama today and attributes it to his advocacy for deported Frisco student Saad Nabeel.

Isenberg, who paid $10,000 to attend the event at the home of plaintiffs' lawyer Russell Budd and his wife, said the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee called yesterday to say the White House had "flagged him" and he should not show up.

The former Dallas City Plan Commissioner said he received no further explanation. The event raises money for the campaign committee.

"I'm not a threat nor have I ever been a threat," Isenberg said. "I'm a lifelong Democrat."

Officials for the party's Senate campaign committee said they could not comment on private fundraising events. He will receive a full reimbursement.

The White House has remained tight-lipped about Obama's visit to Texas today. But donors generally go through an extended vetting process days before fundraisers with the president.

Obama plans a late afternoon trip to Dallas, landing at Love Field at 4 p.m. and leaving about two and a half hours later. Earlier in the day, he attended a Democratic National Committee luncheon and gave a speech on higher education at the University of Texas at Austin.

Isenberg believes he got the boot for public promises last week to speak to Obama about Nabeel's situation. Nabeel appeared in a prominent German magazine on August 5, the same day Isenberg's credit card was processed.

A number of national papers, including The Dallas Morning News, have also written about the former Liberty High and University of Texas at Arlington student deported to Bangladesh this year.

And this morning, a New York Times front page story discussed how the administration has spared undocumented students who have grown up in the country. Isenberg said Nabeel proves the opposite.

"Here we have a kid who has been acted upon and I want something done about it," he said. "And that's a party I'm not invited too."

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