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How Many Like Eric Balderas Will Face Deportation Before Washington Acts?

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This is what it has come to.

Our nation’s immigration system is so dysfunctional that a Harvard biology major, a stellar student who dreams of curing cancer, is being threatened with deportation by the Department of Homeland Security. 

Eric Balderas was detained earlier this month while trying to board a flight back to Harvard. He had gone home to visit his mother in San Antonio, who fled Mexico to escape domestic abuse when he was only four years old. In the United States since then, and valedictorian of his San Antonio high school, Balderas has no memory of his Mexican birthplace. Eric’s first language is English, and he does not speak Spanish well.

The story of Eric Balderas illustrates the perversity of our current failed immigration policy.  Currently, Eric is considered a criminal by the government of the United States. Harvard University considers Eric a promising sophomore.

Eric’s story underscores the need for Congress to pass the DREAM Act immediately – it makes you wonder what objections any Member of Congress could possibly have to embracing Eric and thousands of other young people who are Americans in all but paperwork. The Balderas story, as well as hundreds of other of similar examples, is a perfect example of why Congress should pass the DREAM Act without further delay.

Watch the Harvard Crimson’s take: