Youth can be so arrogant. He's getting a good deal but rejects it because it's unjust and HE wants to stay. He says he's being punished for entering illegally but forgets to mention the DUI and driving without a license. He does not gain my sympathy.




Posted on 04-16-2009

On the Verge of Deportation

Undocumented student fights to stay in the U.S.

Rigoberto Padilla has been featured on the radio at WRTE 90.5 FM Radioarte, on Telemundo and in the La Raza Newspaper. He is talking to the media to make his deportation situation known to the public.

"I'm not the only one going through deportation," Padilla said.

[b/On January 2009, Padilla, 21, was arrested and charged for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) and for driving without a license.[/b] Cook County transferred his case to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Padilla is on the verge of deportation and will be sent back to his country of birth, México; an order he does not want to follow.

"Its unjust. I'm being penalized for entering the country illegally and without proper inspection," he said.

Padilla has been living in the U.S. for almost 15 years. He was six when his parents made the decision to immigrate north. Padilla, who is a full-time student at Harold Washington College and a full-time employee at a Chicago restaurant, said he deserves to stay.

[/b]"I didn't choose to come to the U.S. and I am not choosing to go back to México," Padilla said.[/b]

On April 8, he presented his case in court and the judge gave him an extension to hire a lawyer. Padilla has met with lawyers but they all give him one choice - to plead voluntary departure. Padilla will not take that offer; he wants to stay and wait for some type of immigration reform.

Whether it's Obama's immigration plan or the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM Act), introduced by Sen. Dick Durbin, which would provide a path for undocumented students toward legalization, Padilla hopes a law will grant him status and allow him to stay in the U.S. He has pleaded his case to Sen. Durbin and Congressman Luis Gutiérrez, asking them to push the DREAM Act forward. His next court date is May 7, and with or without a lawyer, Padilla says he will fight to stay in the U.S.

But not everyone agrees with the DREAM Act. Rick Biesada, director of the Chicago Minuteman project said Durbin is pandering to the illegal alien community. He said Durbin is discriminatory against American citizens by creating benefits for illegal immigrants that do not belong to this country.

"It is a slap in the face for every person that is standing in line who is trying to get into this country legally," said Biesada, who adds that laws are made for the protection of citizens.

But organizations, like the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, are in support of the DREAM Act.

"We see the DREAM Act as an important part of immigration reform. We want to advocate for youth, the DREAM Act and for parents, so that families can stay together," said Juan Jose González, organizer with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.

by Silvana Tabares

http://www.extranews.net/news.php?nid=4790