Benny is a perfect example of the type of people that must be integrated in our society...Please call your congressional representatives now!!
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Facing possible deportation, she turns to bill that would provide a path to citizenship
By MELISSA LUDWIGSAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
April 13, 2009, 6:31AM
April 13, 2009, 6:31AM
SAN ANTONIO — In elementary school, Benita Veliz dreaded substitute teachers. Her classmates would act up and the sub would threaten to call the principal, a prospect so upsetting to Veliz that her regular teacher began placing her in a colleague’s classroom on days the teacher could not make it to class.
Imagine how Veliz, now 23, reacted this January when she was thrown into jail after a traffic stop because she is an unauthorized immigrant.
“To go from that to being in jail was surreal,” Veliz said.
Her parents brought her across the border when she was 8 years old. She worked doggedly in school, graduating valedictorian of her class at Jefferson High School in 2002 and later from St. Mary’s University. She works as a secretary for a church and dreams of going to law school.
However, if Congress doesn’t change immigration laws, Veliz most likely will be deported to Mexico. She has an immigration hearing scheduled in June.
Trying again
Like the estimated 65,000 unauthorized immigrants who graduate from U.S. high schools each year, Veliz has pinned her hopes for the future on the DREAM Act, a bill that would provide a path to citizenship for children brought here by their parents before age 16.
Under the act, immigrants must serve in the military or earn a college degree to stay permanently. Lawmakers reintroduced the bill last month.
With a Democratic-controlled Congress and a supportive president, advocates say the stars could align this year.
“The (presidential) election was a real game changer on this,” said Paco Fabian, a spokesman for America’s Voice, a national campaign for comprehensive immigration reform.
As in years past, the DREAM Act will face opposition from groups such as the Federation for American Immigration Reform. According to director Ira Mehlman, the act creates an incentive for parents to break the law. Children must pay for their parents’ actions, he said.
Giving up isn’t in Veliz’s vocabulary.
“You don’t have to accept that,” she said. “You can make a conscious decision to fight for justice.”
The consequences of Veliz’s status didn’t hit until high school, when her friends began getting drivers’ licenses and jobs at McDonald’s.
People have said she should have gone back to Mexico and applied for residency.
“Honestly, put yourself in my shoes,” Veliz said. “At 14, was I going to drive over to Mexico? And do what? Stay with who?”
Instead, Veliz worked feverishly to pack her résumé with achievements, from joining Future Farmers of America to performing in the class musical.
Claiming she’s not naturally smart, Veliz took the hardest classes Jefferson had to offer, getting to school early and staying late for extra tutoring.
A testament to her tenacity, Veliz did all this with a tumor growing in her nose, making her persistently sick with what doctors told her was allergies.
When doctors finally diagnosed and removed the benign tumor, Veliz realized she had been breathing through her mouth for five years.
Her hard work paid off with a full scholarship to St. Mary’s University. But after graduation, her options were limited.
In January, a police officer stopped her for rolling through a stop sign. Veliz didn’t have a driver’s license or residency documents, and the officer handcuffed her and turned her over to immigration officials.
Mixed feelings
Veliz assumed she would find a legal avenue to stay, but a lawyer quickly dashed her hopes. That’s when she decided to go public.
Her story appeared in a New York Times column, and her friends started a Facebook group called “Don’t Deport Benita Veliz.”
Several television stations picked up on the story and in a couple of weeks, she is scheduled to appear on a national Spanish language show called Al Punto.
Veliz has mixed feelings about the publicity. “It’s not about Benita Veliz getting deported,” she said. “It’s about kids all across the nation in this situation who are not free to speak out. It’s wasted potential.”
More than anything, Veliz just wants to work. And pay taxes.
“I want to give back,” Veliz said. “By deporting me, I will never have that opportunity.”
Imagine how Veliz, now 23, reacted this January when she was thrown into jail after a traffic stop because she is an unauthorized immigrant.
“To go from that to being in jail was surreal,” Veliz said.
Her parents brought her across the border when she was 8 years old. She worked doggedly in school, graduating valedictorian of her class at Jefferson High School in 2002 and later from St. Mary’s University. She works as a secretary for a church and dreams of going to law school.
However, if Congress doesn’t change immigration laws, Veliz most likely will be deported to Mexico. She has an immigration hearing scheduled in June.
Trying again
Like the estimated 65,000 unauthorized immigrants who graduate from U.S. high schools each year, Veliz has pinned her hopes for the future on the DREAM Act, a bill that would provide a path to citizenship for children brought here by their parents before age 16.
Under the act, immigrants must serve in the military or earn a college degree to stay permanently. Lawmakers reintroduced the bill last month.
With a Democratic-controlled Congress and a supportive president, advocates say the stars could align this year.
“The (presidential) election was a real game changer on this,” said Paco Fabian, a spokesman for America’s Voice, a national campaign for comprehensive immigration reform.
As in years past, the DREAM Act will face opposition from groups such as the Federation for American Immigration Reform. According to director Ira Mehlman, the act creates an incentive for parents to break the law. Children must pay for their parents’ actions, he said.
Giving up isn’t in Veliz’s vocabulary.
“You don’t have to accept that,” she said. “You can make a conscious decision to fight for justice.”
The consequences of Veliz’s status didn’t hit until high school, when her friends began getting drivers’ licenses and jobs at McDonald’s.
People have said she should have gone back to Mexico and applied for residency.
“Honestly, put yourself in my shoes,” Veliz said. “At 14, was I going to drive over to Mexico? And do what? Stay with who?”
Instead, Veliz worked feverishly to pack her résumé with achievements, from joining Future Farmers of America to performing in the class musical.
Claiming she’s not naturally smart, Veliz took the hardest classes Jefferson had to offer, getting to school early and staying late for extra tutoring.
A testament to her tenacity, Veliz did all this with a tumor growing in her nose, making her persistently sick with what doctors told her was allergies.
When doctors finally diagnosed and removed the benign tumor, Veliz realized she had been breathing through her mouth for five years.
Her hard work paid off with a full scholarship to St. Mary’s University. But after graduation, her options were limited.
In January, a police officer stopped her for rolling through a stop sign. Veliz didn’t have a driver’s license or residency documents, and the officer handcuffed her and turned her over to immigration officials.
Mixed feelings
Veliz assumed she would find a legal avenue to stay, but a lawyer quickly dashed her hopes. That’s when she decided to go public.
Her story appeared in a New York Times column, and her friends started a Facebook group called “Don’t Deport Benita Veliz.”
Several television stations picked up on the story and in a couple of weeks, she is scheduled to appear on a national Spanish language show called Al Punto.
Veliz has mixed feelings about the publicity. “It’s not about Benita Veliz getting deported,” she said. “It’s about kids all across the nation in this situation who are not free to speak out. It’s wasted potential.”
More than anything, Veliz just wants to work. And pay taxes.
“I want to give back,” Veliz said. “By deporting me, I will never have that opportunity.”
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