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07-10-2005, 08:36 PM #1
Packing the past, facing the future (Marie Gonzalez saga)
Packing the past, facing the future
Marie Gonzalez awaits word about her future in the U.S.
By MEGAN ROLLAND
July 10, 2005
http://columbiamissourian.com/news/story.php?ID=14771
Marie Gonzalez couldn’t sleep the night after her parents left for Costa Rica to avoid deportation.
The longest the 19-year-old had been away from her mother and father was one week. Now she faces the possibility of six years without them by her side.
Gonzalez spent Saturday packing up her family home in Jefferson City, deciding what to sell, what to keep and what to ship to her parents.
The larger decisions, however, remain unanswered for Gonzalez, who received unofficial word July 1 that the Department of Homeland Security had granted her a one-year extension to remain in the United States and attend college.
Official notification has yet to arrive, leaving Gonzalez guessing whether or not she will be allowed to work and drive.
Despite these questions, she planned on spending today filling out college applications, an opportunity she missed last year after graduation because of her status as an illegal immigrant.
“I am just excited to be able to apply,� she said.
She is going to apply to schools in Missouri to stay close to her friends, schools in California to be with relatives, and schools close to Washington, D.C., to be near the legislation that will determine her future.
Gonzalez’s options after her one-year extension expires are dependent on the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, which is stalled in the U.S. Senate.
The act would allow students, who, like Gonzalez, graduated from school in the United States as illegal immigrants, to attend college for two years and then apply for citizenship.
“I want to continue to fight,� Gonzalez said about the U.S. immigration system.
While Gonzalez struggles with decisions, her parents, Marvin and Marina Gonzalez, are starting over in Costa Rica, with limited options.
The Gonzalezes said that when they arrived in Los Angeles in 1991 with short-term visas, they received unsound legal advice to stay in the U.S. for seven years and then apply for citizenship.
Three years ago, however, federal immigration authorities began the deportation process when they became aware of the Gonzalezes illegal status.
Marvin and Marina Gonzalez had to leave the United States by July 5.
“They had a wonderful reception when they arrived (in Costa Rica),� Marie Gonzalez said. Her parents were able to see family they hadn’t seen since they immigrated to the United States.
“Yesterday, there was some kind of petition passed so that my parents could meet with the president of Costa Rica,� she said, adding that maybe something could be done from that angle.
In between packing Saturday, Marie Gonzalez spent time on her computer looking up newspapers in Costa Rica that were covering the deportation.
She pointed out pictures of her parents on the beach, in the airport, and then, scrolling down, a picture of her mom crying.
“They’re still having a really tough time,� Gonzalez said, who has talked to her parents nightly using phone cards.
“I knew that there wasn’t any choice except for me staying here,� she said. “I just wish my parents were here, too.�
Marina Gonzalez has said that it will be difficult for her and her husband to find work in Costa Rica because they are older.
Marie Gonzalez also checked a Web site developed by the Center for Community Change in Washington D.C.
She keeps a diary on the site â€â€Support our FIGHT AGAINST illegal immigration & Amnesty by joining our E-mail Alerts at http://eepurl.com/cktGTn
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07-11-2005, 12:14 AM #2
Re: Packing the past, facing the future (Marie Gonzalez saga
[quote]She keeps a diary on the site â€â€
A Nation Without Borders Is Not A Nation - Ronald Reagan
Save America, Deport Congress! - Judy
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