Dallas Morning News, TX
Dallas-area students cling to American dream
09:53 PM CDT on Sunday, July 6, 2008
By STELLA M. CHÃ?VEZ [email protected]
Cristina Gamez quotes Albert Einstein, plays the piano and knows basic
Japanese. Monica Ibarra Rodriguez enjoys Guitar Hero and plans to one
day work as a substance abuse counselor. Her cousin, Jose de Jesus
Ibarra, wants to be a mechanical engineer.
The Dallas-area young adults are typical of many college-age students
` full of hopes and plans for the future. But all three are living in
the country illegally and last year became subjects of deportation
proceedings.
The students recently learned that U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson,
D-Dallas, has taken up their cause. On June 20, Ms. Johnson filed a
private bill that seeks to keep them from being deported.
In the absence of comprehensive immigration legislation, private
immigration bills are sometimes a measure of last resort for
immigrants trying to remain in the country. Such legislation names
specific individuals and is intended only for them.
In this case, all three were brought to the U.S. from Mexico many
years ago by their parents.
"That time was running out, and I didn’t feel like I could keep
waiting," said Ms. Johnson. "It [the bill] might not pass, but at
least it buys us some time."
Ira Mehlman, media director of the Federation for American Immigration
Reform, said exceptions should not be made for children, even if they
had no choice in coming here.
"It’s simply a bad precedent to set," Mr. Mehlman said. "While we
certainly don’t take any pleasure in seeing the kids harmed, we as a
society hold the parents responsible. Children are not human
shields. Unfortunately, this was a situation created by the parents,
and there are consequences to breaking the law and those consequences
affect your family."
Ms. Johnson’s measure comes 10 days after U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein,
D-Calif., filed a private bill to keep an Armenian high school student
from being deported.
The bills have several hurdles to clear. They must go through
committee hearings and pass both the House and Senate before being
signed into law by the president. Few have been enacted.
Ms. Johnson said she’s realistic about her bill’s odds.
"I think it’s a long shot, but I think once we have a hearing and
people hear the real story, there’s a possibility we might have the
votes," she said.
Immigrant proponents have sought a remedy for children of illegal
immigrants in the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors
Act, or DREAM Act, which would grant legal status to illegal
immigrants who graduated from a U.S. high school and attended college
or served in the military. But last fall, the bill failed in the
Senate.
The bill’s fate was especially disappointing for the Ibarras, who
traveled to Washington for the vote and met with Sen. Kay Bailey
Hutchison’s staff. She supported the bill.
Sen. John Cornyn opposed it and refused to meet with the family
because they were in the country illegally, he said at the time.
Ms. Gamez was 5 when she came to the United States, but she could tell
the stark contrast between her native country and America.
"For one thing, everybody has shoes," she recalled noticing. "Everyone
is nicely dressed."
Her parents initially intended to return home, but decided they’d lead
a better life here, she said.
Problems arose last year when she racked up numerous school
absences. That landed her in truancy court. There, an officer asked
her if she was a U.S. citizen, which led to court hearings and into
the offices of immigration attorney Liz Cedillo-Pereira.
The Ibarras, both 19, were caught at a party on senior skip
day. During her stay in a detention facility, all Ms. Ibarra Rodriguez
could think about was graduation.
"I just wanted to make my family proud … that I didn’t waste my time
going to school for nothing," she said, crying.
Ms. Ibarra Rodriguez, who is enrolled in a local community college,
said Ms. Johnson’s bill gives her hope, but she remains worried.
She said Mexico is a foreign place to her.
Ms. Cedillo-Pereira, who is representing all three students, said they
are good students who want to finish college and become legal working
residents.
"Once we’re able to seek a more comprehensive solution, we won’t have
to seek more remedies of last resort," she said.
Larry James, president and CEO of Central Dallas Ministries, said he
supports the students.
"We’re really grateful beyond words, but at the same time we recognize
that this is not the way to handle immigration," Mr. James
said. "We’re going to fight to see that they get to stay."