Earlier this week we brought you the story of Marlen Moreno, the Arizona mother and aspiring preschool teacher who would be eligible to earn citizenship under the DREAM Act. On Saturday, she was scheduled to be ripped away from her family and the country she calls home, which she was brought to as a young girl.
Here’s the great news: Marlen was just granted what’s known as “deferred action” for one year. She was scheduled to be deported on August 8th, but after a campaign initiated by DREAM Act activists, Marlen was allowed to stay with her family for another year.
We asked you to fax DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, and you came through. In just 24 hours, we passed our goal of having 5,000 people fax DHS. As of today, you’ve sent close to 20,000 faxes to the agency!
Thank you.
Your voices made a major difference for Marlen and her family.
Several prominent elected officials also advocated on Marlen’s behalf, including Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Harry Reid (D-NV), and Chuck Schumer (D-NY)), and Congressmen Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), and Howard Berman (D-CA). These leaders are also working to pass the DREAM Act this year, as a first step toward full immigration reform.
According to a DREAMActivist press statement:
“We all truly appreciate this decision by ICE. I congratulate Janet Napolitano for making the right decision to keep this young family together. This is wonderful news for Marlen and her family and it demonstrates a further need for ICE to stop the removal of all DREAM Act eligible individuals,” stated Mo Goldman, one of Marlen Moreno’s attorneys.
Marlen responds:
Marlen, with her two sons in hand, said: “I appreciate each and every person who helped me and offered their support, everybody who put their dedication and effort to make this possible. I wish that this were also possible for others who find themselves in a situation similar to mine. I hope to be able to help and involve myself with everybody and all the to fight for the DREAM Act.”
