Thread: Young immigrants have a dream

Young immigrants have a dream
Friday, December 11, 2009
By Father Tom Joyce CMF

Just yesterday it was announced that Rigoberto (Rigo) Padilla will not have to leave this country later this month. He can stay another year while his immigration status is reviewed and regularized. Rigo came to this country at 6 years old, went through U.S. schools, and was an honor student at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He was caught running a stop sign, had had a few beers, and, as an undocumented immigrant, had no driver’s license. ICE came upon him as he was locked up in Cook County Jail, and an immigration judge quickly ordered his deportation.

A campaign ensued among his fellow students and faculty at UIC to allow him to stay in the country, at least to finish his education – he is a junior and sociology major. One interesting aspect of the protest in favor of Rigo was that many of the organizers were in the same situation – undocumented students who were brought to this country at young ages. Like Rigo many no longer had effective contacts to their country of origin, may be had never even visited it, and see themselves as “Americans.â€

Student scheduled for deportation gets 1 more year
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December 10, 2009
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter/fspielman@suntimes.com

Six days away from deportation, a University of Illinois at Chicago student caught in the switches while awaiting immigration reform has a one-year reprieve.

Rigo Padilla, 21, was notified by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security today that his deportation has been deferred.


Instead of returning next week to his native Mexico, Padilla can graduate from UIC, where he's studying law and earning straight A's.

If Congress hasn't passed immigration reform by then — or approved the so-called DREAM Act granting legal status to many immigrant students — Padilla can apply for a one-year extension.

"I'm very excited. I was very close to having to buy a plane ticket to Mexico," Padilla said today.

"I'm just thankful to the Obama administration. They showed some leniency in my case. They gave me the opportunity to work hard and complete my college education. There are a lot of other students facing deportation. I hope they, too, can be shown some leniency."

Pressed on what went through his mind as Wednesday's deadline approached, Padilla said, "It was scary. It would have been devastating to be sent back to Mexico after being here since the first grade. Chicago is my home. I can't picture living somewhere else. I blocked it out of my head. I just focused on school."

How does he plan to celebrate?

"I have to go get my ankle bracelet taken off. I've had this for 11 months," Padilla said. "And I still have two papers to write by the end of the week. I think I'm gonna go home and finish those papers."

Josh Hoyt, executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, credited the Chicago Sun-Times' front-page coverage of a City Council hearing on Padilla's case with turning the political tide in the student's favor.

"By painting him as a human being who was much more than the one mistake he made allowed elected officials to step forward and support him. Before that, there was only Congressman [Luis] Gutierrez — and he steps forward for everyone" facing deportation, Hoyt said.

After the City Council hearing, U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) introduced legislation that would have paved the way for Padilla to become a legal resident. That sent a "powerful message" to Homeland Security, Hoyt said.

"A convincing argument was made that united all of Chicago that Rigo is a young man who will be an asset to our nation. He should not be separated from his family and thrown out of the country he calls his home," Hoyt said.

On Jan. 18, Padilla was driving home from watching football and sharing a few beers with friends when he was arrested for Driving Under the Influence after being pulled over for rolling through a stop sign.

There was a designated driver that night, but Padilla had dropped the friend off before getting behind the wheel for the eight-block drive to his own home.

He was taken to Cook County Jail. When a public defender found out that he was an undocumented immigrant, Padilla was reported to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The damage was done. Although Padilla was released with an electronic monitoring device and given court supervision for the traffic violation, he was put on the fast track to deportation.

"That was kind of a drastic response to a mistake made by a young man who came here at the age of six because his parents made a choice to seek a better life," said Kalman Resnick, Padilla's attorney.

"It's a rare teenager who doesn't do something that ends up in the criminal justice system. I know that. I raised two teenagers. But [the punishment] depends on class and color and national origin."

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1932 ... 09.article