More on Juan Sebastian Gomez and His Friends

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Juan Gomez pals vow to press on
BY LESLEY CLARK AND KATHLEEN MCGRORY
lclark@MiamiHerald.com
August 3, 2007

WASHINGTON --
When Scott Elfenbein learned immigration officials had granted his best friend a reprieve from being deported, he took five minutes to celebrate.

Then it was back to work.

That single-minded determination among a group of Juan Gomez's former classmates accomplished what most everyone had told them would never happen: They forced the federal government to sit up and take notice.

Less than a week after immigration officials seized Gomez, 18, his parents and his brother Alex, 19, the Colombian-born family was walking out of a Broward detention center with 45 days of freedom -- and a second chance for the two young men to stay in the United States.

''These kids are the bill of rights in action,'' Rep. Lincoln Díaz-Balart, R-Miami, said of the teenagers who contacted his office and convinced him to file his first private bill in 15 years in office. ``They're amazing. I'm just happy to be part of their team.''

The effort that has at least temporarily freed Gomez began to gel just minutes after immigration officials seized the family July 25. When Elfenbein got the call from Gomez, his friend was about to be deported to Colombia, the country Gomez left as a toddler.

''We freaked out at first,'' said the seemingly unflappable Elfenbein, the Harvard-bound president of his student body at Miami Killian Senior High School, captain of the lacrosse team and editor of the yearbook. ``No one had a clue about deportation, about immigration law.''

So Elfenbein said they did what they knew. They created a Facebook page to keep friends informed and they began calling the news media, pleading for coverage.

'We told them, `Just give us 20 minutes, it's a really compelling story,' '' he said.

...Cheryl Little, the head of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, called Elfenbein on his cellphone after hearing about the effort. Gomez's mother, Liliana, had approached a FIAC attorney at the detention center, asking for help.

''Impressed is an understatement,'' Little said of her talks with the students. ``They didn't need a lot of coaching. They had a really good sense of what needed to be done.''

Still, Elfenbein said the word out of Washington was discouraging. 'We were told, `Don't expect too much, you guys are doomed,' '' Elfenbein said.

Little told the teenagers they were trying to convince immigration officials to stay the deportation and convince a member of Congress to sponsor a private bill that would allow the Gomez brothers -- but not their parents -- to stay in the United States.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami, joked to Elfenbein last Friday that he'd be more effective working the issue in Washington.

''And look what happens when you say something to impressionable teens,'' Elfenbein said Thursday, sitting in Ros-Lehtinen's congressional office, eating pizza that her staff delivered to the crew.

Over the weekend, the teens decided to take their case to Washington. They raised money at a party: Grant Miller, of Miami's Community Newspapers, asked Jacob Hart, another friend of Gomez's, to recite the tale. A hat was passed around and the effort netted more than $400. Parishioners at St. Louis Catholic Church also contributed...

''I haven't met the [Gomez] boys, obviously, but they must be terrific to have friends like this all over the place, advocating,'' said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., who heads the House immigration subcommittee. ``They're passionate but polite and people are listening to them...''

for complete article:

http://www.miamiherald.com/519/story/191216.html