Teens stand up to deportations

Plight of student stopped for speeding propels cause


1:21 AM, Jun. 25, 2011
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Written by Chris Echegaray

Mercedes Gonzalez was stopped for speeding — going 48 mph in a 40 mph zone — several days before her Overton High School graduation in May.

Because she did not have a driver’s license, the 18-year-old girl was detained and screened for deportation.

Gonzalez, who was born in Mexico and moved here when she was 11, was released on her own recognizance. She will appear in immigration court, but no date has been set. She did not want to comment on the case.

Nationwide, students — both documented and undocumented — have launched a youth movement to persuade the federal government to change its immigration policies and help children like Gonzalez who were brought to the United States illegally. The students have initiated letter-writing campaigns and lobbied for support through Internet blogs and social media. A rally is planned at the Georgia State Capitol on Tuesday.

“The undocumented student movement is, perhaps, the most impressive contemporary social movement in the U.S.,â€