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Rights groups vow to fight deportation efforts of DREAM act youth

On Behalf of | Nov 12, 2011 | U.S. Immigration Law |

According to the Obama administration, illegal immigrants who pose no threat to the United States or had not broken any laws would not be detained and deported. But real life is showing that this new Washington policy is not working. At least it is not working for one 25-year-old man who is now facing immigration court and possible deportation.

It all began on October 19 when a Miami car dealership was visited by federal officers. When they asked the young man for his papers, he did not have any. He was turned over to immigration officials and is now in the deportation proceeding system.

The young man, born in Bangladesh, has been living in the United States since he was 7-years-old. He does not have a criminal background and under the new immigrant policy is eligible for the DREAM Act.

Immigration rights groups have come out to fight deportation on the man, claiming that his removal from the U.S. would be contrary to what the Obama administration had promised in regards to deporting “low risk” immigrants.

Back in August, senior administration officials said about 300,000 removal cases would be reviewed under the policy. Of those, some would be closed if it was determined that those people were “low-priority” deportees. This would include DREAM Act youth, non-criminals and people with family ties to the United States. Even so, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has already promised that deportation numbers would be “robust” for 2011. It was recently announced by the Obama administration that it had already deported a record number of undocumented immigrants, totaling almost 400,000.

While Washington continues to send out mixed messages, real people are suffering the consequences. Individuals who may have immigration issues may want to think about working with an experienced immigration and deportation attorney. This may prove to offer the best results when it comes to avoiding trouble with the government.

Source: The Huffington Post, “DREAM Act-Eligible Man Faces Deportation, Despite Policy Change,” Elise Foley, Oct. 24, 2011

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