Since Christmas, Mario has been sitting in a Georgia detention center. Though he’s been in the United States since he was a baby, he was forced to spend Christmas, New Year’s, and Valentine’s Day away from his family, friends, and his bride-to-be, Brandy.
It was only days before his wedding when Mario was pulled over and arrested on his way to meet up with Brandy, a U.S. citizen who doesn’t speak Spanish.
Mario is upstanding member of his community. He graduated from high school in 2008 and enrolled in technical school. On top of that, he is an active member of his church, and everyone who knows him says he has outstanding moral character.
But more than anything, Mario wants the chance to be able to to start a life together with Brandy.
Unless we act now, Mario could see this future slip away. You can help by sending a fax to local ICE officials telling them to stop his deportation. Let them know that upstanding people like Mario shouldn’t even be making it on to their list of those to be deported.
Mario would qualify for the DREAM Act, a piece of legislation supported by a majority of the American people. The bill would allow for undocumented youth, like Mario, to earn legal status upon completion of two years of military service or two years of college—provided they were brought to the United States at a young age. Though it was up for a vote in the Senate toward the end of last year (around the time Mario was detained ), forty-one Senators decided to play the Christmas Grinch and denied thousands of hard-working young people a chance at bettering their lives and contributing to society. All despite the fact that legislation has majority support in the public and in Congress.