Another Student in the news!

It is good that the media is paying more attention to cases like these, it is sad that cases like these happen. Before, students who Could Not continue their studies further because of their status- were not even taken into account. But reality has to set into the politicians and truly pay attention to what the people in this country are facing. How difficult is to understand the necessity of ‘allowing’ for students to keep up with their goals in schools and careers. The careers that others may not fill, but the needs and wants are there.

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Aspiring artist, 18, who grew up in U.S. fighting deportation to Mexico

By Tal Abbady | South Florida Sun-Sentinel

“Garcia adjusted to his new life and became fluent in English. He attended Silver Lakes Middle School and Coconut Creek High School, where he discovered his artistic talent. In 10th grade, he won first place in an art competition for ESOL students for his drawing of a Mayan man standing next to a jaguar. That prize spurred more drawings. Garcia took art classes at school and began to see his future as an artist.

But a random checkpoint at the Port of Miami in August put Garcia on the radar of immigration officials. Garcia and a 21-year-old friend, an undocumented Salvadoran immigrant who was driving the pair, were stopped by officials when they accidentally drove into the Port of Miami. They tried to leave, but both were asked for their ID. Neither had any. Officials took Garcia's friend into custody. He was deported soon after. Garcia was held in Miami for two days before authorities sent him to a detention center in New York. He was there three weeks, before he was given a hearing date and released. Garcia, who has little understanding of the immigration system, said he'd heard of the deportation of adults. But he said he doubted that school children such as himself could be ensnared by the law.

Roughly 700,000 children enrolled in K-12 schools throughout the country are undocumented, according to Josh Bernstein, director of federal policy for the National Immigration Law Center. A proposed bill, the Dream Act, which would provide a path to citizenship for students like Garcia, has languished in Congress for years. Bernstein referred to Garcia as part of the "1.5 generation" -- wedged between the first generation of immigrant adults and the second generation of U.S.-born children. "It is a very promising generation, but our laws are written in such a way that we treat them like criminals," he said. But proponents of tougher immigration enforcement say that is the easy side of the argument.

"When parents break the law, they're taking the risk that there will be consequences for their children," said Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform. "Immigration policy forces people to make tough ethical decisions," said Stein, "but the laws matter."

After his hearing, Garcia was hopeful for his future. Bolstered by the judge's decision, he said he will focus the next months on his case. "I came here to be someone," he said of his entry into the United States. "I have a good shot.""