Something doesn't make sense with this story..

[desertblue88 0]

Hey Guys,

Read a story today that was sent from the AILA newsletters, and it does really suck to hear about this person who was brought over when he was a kid and has now been deported back to a country he is not familiar with because he has been in the United States since he was 3.

What doesn't make sense, is the news article says that they're green cards were approved but they were already deported and can't come back for 10 years.. Now how does that make any flippin sense. If they have been deported but had their green cards approved, they should then be able to immediately return to the US. and further more, why would ICE come and deport them if they knew they had a pending approvable case. This doesn't make sense to me, unless I am missing something...

What are your thoughts?

Saad Nabeel is afraid to leave his apartment. He lives in a small apartment with his parents in Dhaka, Bangladesh. But Nabeel doesn't know anything about Bangladesh. He doesn't speak Bengali, the country's official language, or understand Dhaka's local culture. Even its laws are a mystery to him. Because Nabeel looks and acts American, he feels that if he were to go out alone he could be kidnapped for ransom, something that happens fairly often in Bangladesh.

“I am American in every way,” Nabeel says—well, not quite every way. Nabeel is an undocumented immigrant, one of 2.1 million young people who entered the United States as children and face the threat of deportation to a country they barely know. Nabeel and the other undocumented immigrants could benefit from proposed legislation known as the DREAM Act, which would offer a path to citizenship.

Born in Bangladesh in 1991, Nabeel moved to the United States with his family at the age of 3. His father, Mohammad Tarique, then applied for political asylum. Tarique was repeatedly denied asylum, but he continued appealing to higher courts. In 2002, when Nabeel was 11 years old, Nabeel’s father reached the end of the appeals process, and immigration officials told him he needed to leave the country. But instead of leaving, Nabeel’s family moved to Frisco, Texas, a Dallas suburb. There, Nabeel’s father began the process of applying for a green card, the alien permanent resident ID card. They were scheduled to be approved in January 2010.

Meanwhile, Nabeel thrived in Texas. He graduated from Liberty High School in 2009 and accepted a full scholarship to the University of Texas–Arlington to study electrical engineering. In November 2009, Nabeel’s father called immigration officials asking to extend their stay by two months, until the arrival of their green card in January.

“The deportation officer decided, instead of giving him two more months of time, that he would deport our family. Two immigration officers came to our home and took my dad to jail,” Nabeel says, adding that he was at his apartment on campus when his mother called to tell him they had to leave Texas as soon as possible. He and his family packed up and left within five hours.

They headed to the Canadian border, where they hoped to obtain refugee status. Nabeel’s mother has an uncle in the country, but immigration officials refused because the three did not give matching answers to questions proving their relationship. Nabeel and his mother were placed in legal custody, where he remained until Jan. 4, 2010.

“I was forced to sign a paper saying that I cannot return to the USA for 10 years. If I refused to sign, I would be criminally charged and kept in prison,” Nabeel says. Nabeel and his family were deported to Bangladesh in January.

The family’s green cards have since arrived, but because of the 10-year ban, Nabeel is not allowed back into the United States. His parents are focused on getting Nabeel out of the country as soon as possible.

Nabeel says he did not ask for this situation. “I have been forced to live with my parents for the majority of my life, otherwise I would have left the nation a long time ago by myself, had I known I would have been sent to jail,” he says. “I was forced to be an illegal immigrant because I could not leave my parents. I have no criminal record. Because I tried to achieve something great, I was sent to jail and then to a country I know nothing of. I have lost everything I’ve ever loved.”

While he was forced to return to Bangladesh, Nabeel, his parents and many supporters in the United States continue to fight for his return. Ralph Isenberg, an immigration activist in the Dallas area, has been working with Nabeel after reading about his case. Isenberg has proposed an amendment to the DREAM Act that would allow Nabeel and other students deported the chance to return to the United States. If passed, the amendment, which was presented to the Senate Judiciary Committee, would allow students who had been deported in the past three years the ability to re-enter the United States for their education.

Sparked by this case, Isenberg says changing the law to cover all young people in situations similar to Nabeel’s may be the best way to get him back into the United States.

“The strongest case is to have everyone benefit, so that everyone can come back legitimately,” Isenberg says, adding that there are many more stories like Nabeel’s.

“These stories are not unique,” he says. “There are not hundreds but thousands of these cases going on across the United States.”

If the amendment were passed, a special visa would need to be implemented, because many of those who would benefit have been banned from re-entering the United States. To be eligible for re-entry under the proposed amendment, students would have to prove they entered the United States before the age of 10; completed middle school and high school with good grades; were enrolled full-time in a high school or institution of higher education when deported; and have no criminal record. They would also need to show that they were accepted to an institution of higher education using in-state qualifications; prove they have the financial ability to live in the United States; and meet all other requirements of the DREAM Act.

As for Nabeel, he waits for good news. Despite being disappointed over his deportation, he says he is trying to get back home. “I am desperately trying to figure out a plan as to how to go back to America since it is the only country that I know as my home. It is the only place that I love,” he says.

Original Story is here: http://www.campusprogress.org/articles/student_deported_with_his_family_inspires_dream_act_amendment

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Yes, there are several things that that don't make sense in the story.

First, how would they know that the green cards were to be approved in January?

Second, it sounds like the family probably entered legally - perhaps as visitors - but it does not state on what grounds the family members would be eligible to adjust status unless the asylum application was approved.

Third, If they had applications filed and waiting for a final decision or final processing, then they would have been legally allowed to remain in the US until there was a decision on their application. Whether they had an approval situation or were still under consideration, there would be no 'grounds' under which ICE could deport them, The deportation apparently came in the same month as the 'green cards' which just doesn't make sense.

Fourth, if they have green cards that status would supersede the 10 year ban because as green card holders they would be legally allowed to enter and live in the US. If they have green cards waiting in the US, is is so simple a matter of someone just delivering them to the family in Bangladesh?

So, yes, there do seem to be some things that don't make sense in the story as presented.

Ah - I just thought of something that is probably contingent on the story - they actually 'left' the US before the green cards were approved by trying to flee to Canada. They were denied entry into Canada but technically had left the US, so were detained when trying to re-enter with a greater than 1 year overstay, hence the 10 year ban. So, it comes down to whether their leaving the country before they received the green cards would be considered an abandonment of the AOS process, in which case, the green cards were probably 'cancelled' . I suspect that what tge supporters in the US are working on is getting the green cards re-instated so that the family can then use them to return to the US. The father may be the only one with real legal grounds to fight this as it appears he did not voluntarily leave the US, thus never abandoned his green card application.

Edited August 4, 2010 by Kathryn41

[Boiler 45,525]

It is very difficult to find an immigration story that does make sense.

Perhaps they were petitioned by a sibling?

Lazy journalist that are more interested in making a political point.

[desertblue88 0]

Yeah. Things definitely don't add up. As for the AOS stuff. Agreed. If they voluntarily departed, it would have messed things up.

But. I don't understand how they know the cards were received since no one lives there anymore

Don't get me wrong, I feel the US immigration system isn't perfect. But this story definitely doesn't make sense on any side of the fence you look at it on.

Granted, I know there are people who are put in very bad positions by the immigration system. But in this story the checks and balances just aren't there.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

This is a prime example of a journalist using the "public interest" angle to advance a political viewpoint. Of course, it leaves out key elements to make the immigration system seem cruel and heartless. Never mind the fact that the kid's father played the US legal system for 8 years to postpone the inevitable, lost his final appeal, ignored the order to leave, and then "magically" found grounds to adjust status after moving to Texas. What exactly happened there? Did he come to the US as a visitor in 1988 and father a child, and now the kid finally turned 21? Where did he get the cash to pay for 8 years of appeals?

The kid is an innocent victim, but he's NOT a victim of US immigration law. He's a victim of his dad's abjectly stupid behavior and disregard for US laws. I feel sorry for the kid, but let's put the blame where it really belongs.

Anyway, if Obama signs the executive order that his lawyers have been floating through DHS then CBP will be ordered to stop enforcing the 10 year ban. He can't rewrite immigration law on his own, but he can order departments under the umbrella of the executive branch to ignore them.

[Harsh_77 718]

I am 100% with Jim, maybe kid was minor when he entered the country, but his father has been playing with the system all this while.

He knew his asylum request were getting rejected yet he kept on playing with it for 8 years. On top of it his kid attended the public school with tax payers money even though his family was staying illegally in the country.

The funny part is what did change when they moved to Texas?

If they were able to adjust their status after moving to Texas, why did not they do that lot earlier and how did they know exactly when their GC were getting approved?

I feel sorry for kid, but sorry dude but the present condition were created by his own dad and system should not be blamed for this.