Stop the Deportation of Jessica Colotl
Posted On Friday, April 30, 2010 at at 12:15 PM by Dan
This just came in from GLAHR. Please take action (at the bottom) and forward widely.
Jessica is a 21-year-old senior at Kennesaw State University who has been looking forward to graduating this coming fall. She is majoring in political science and minoring in French. She is a founding sister of Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority Inc., and plans to continue her education and become a lawyer. Her friends affirm that she is a brilliant young woman, an excellent student who studies hard. In addition to studying, in order to pay her tuition, Jessica works nights with her mother, as a janitor, cleaning office buildings in the Atlanta Metro Area. Jessica grew up here in Georgia and has never been in trouble with the law.
So, why is Jessica sitting behind bars in a detention center in Gadsden, Alabama awaiting deportation to a country she hasn’t seen in over 10 years?
Jessica came to the United States as a little girl, more than 10 years ago, with her mother. She has lived, studied, and worked here ever since, contributing to her community, enriching her friends’ lives, paying taxes, living her life.
And then on Monday, March 29th, everything changed.
That day, a Kennesaw State University campus police officer ‘pulled her over’ when she was parking in the University parking lot. According to the officer, she was “impeding the flow of traffic.”
She was asked for her license and when she informed the officer she did not have one she was told to come to his office the day after or he would issue an arrest warrant for her. Jessica went to the office on Tuesday, March 30th, 2010 and told the truth. She explained there was no possible way for her to obtain a license because, though she had lived almost all of her life in Georgia, she was legally undocumented. The officer charged with campus security proceeded to detain her. She was arrested and jailed in Cobb County where the county’s 287(g) agreement allows for local sheriffs to enforce federal immigration law. From there she was put directly into deportation proceedings and has been behind bars ever since.
Yesterday afternoon, an immigration judge denied her bond and ordered her to leave the country within 30 days. She is being sent back to Mexico, a country she hasn’t been to since she was 10 years old, only months before she is to graduate from college.
Why is Jessica being deported? Has she committed some terrible crime? Is she ‘sapping precious state resources’ from citizens? Is Jessica the “illegal alien” we’re told we should fear?
No.
Jessica is a hard working, smart college student who enriches the state of Georgia and the United States of America by her presence and her contributions. We want Jessica’s nightmare to end. She represents the kind of young person that makes Georgia a better place; she should be allowed to remain in the state and country in which she grew up.
We support Jessica, we march for Jessica, we fight for Jessica to remain in Georgia!
Contact representative John Lewis at (404) 659-0116 or (202) 225-3801 and ask him to:
1) GET INVOLVED in Jessica Colotl’s case! Tell him to contact DHS and STOP her deportation!
2) SPONSOR the Dream Act to help students like Jessica and thousands of others!
I learned of Jessica's story just yesterday. I was shocked and appalled. Why punish and criminalize a person who is on the right path, contributing to society, being a role model for young people in a world with, at times, little hope?
Then today, at the rally against Arizona's SB1070, I witnessed something inspirational. A group of students from Kennesaw State holding up signs with messages of solidarity and chanting, "We are all Jessica!" took center stage in front of the Atlanta Capitol building at the rally today. The crowd chimed in.
She deserves our support!
Deporting Jessica would not serve justice John Lewis should be ashamed of himself for allowing this case to get this far without having intervened. Jessica's deportation is a choice case to present to congress what is happening without CIR. Everyone loses if we deport Jessica, even Mother Justice.
She is a criminal immagrant and that is the bottom line.
This article is so easy to pull apart with just a little research.
The article failed to mention that she did give the officer a Mexican drivers license. Unless Mexico hands those out to 11 year olds then she has snuck into and out of her home nationa at least once in the last few years.
The article says she works hard and pays her taxes? How is she doing that? No citizenship papers or resident immigrant papers and she can not get a legal job that pays taxes. The only way around that is that she has been working on a stolen SSN. Is she sending the IRS a letter and a check every year and saying "I am hear illegaly and I earned 35K last year, here are my taxes."
The article also failed to mention that she stated she wanted to finish her degree and then she was going home. Well we just sped up the process a little. Here is a clue that she was lying, What good would a US law degree be in Mexico.
Though she may not be up to alot of the "no good" that other criminal immagrants are she is a criminal none the less.
She is a criminal and needs to be deported, they need to deport her criminal parents while they are at it.
I think I will call KSU tomorrow and thank them for doing the right thing.
Redbarron,
If someone gives a fake SSN (not stolen, just fake), they pay social security taxes. They never receive the benefits, they just pay the taxes. Same since federal and state taxes are taken out of the check. If the person buys anything, they pay sales tax. So, as you can see, your response is easy to pull apart with just a little common sense and logic. Of course, common sense and logic aren't suppose to play any part in an immigration debate, right?
In addition to what Dan said, Barron, someone can obtain Mexican identification (not sure about DLs but IDs for sure) by going to the Mexican Consulate here in the United States if they are a Mexican citizen. And you underestimate the value that all countries put on American degrees. There are also ways of paying taxes without stealing SSNs such as through an ITIN. Just saying.
also, my dear Redbarron, anyone in the United States can pay taxes by using an ITIN (Individual Identification Tax Number), which is obtained directly from the IRS! Why? Because they don't care of your legal status; they care that you pay taxes.
What good would a US degree do in Mexico? What a stupid question that is. A US degree is good in many other countries.
She should be deported end of discussion. Why isn't ICE enforcing immigration law?
Edward,
Thanks for deciding when the discussion ends. It's really helpful to know that I don't have to think about how long I want to talk about something or have an important issue debated. The fact that you, all by yourself, get to decide how long I get to think about something sure does take a lot of weight off my shoulders. I'm sure democracy would work a lot smoother if we all stopped talking and just did whatever you said. You sure have taken on a lot of responsibility, but I think you can handle it. Of course, my opinion doesn't matter because you get to decide whether or not this issue gets to be debated. I would ask how you came about getting this awesome power, but I'm not sure it's permitted to talk about that.
I wonder if there is an American student who couldn't make in into the college because Jessica's butt sat there. I wonder how many American taxpayers paid more in taxes for education because of the NUMBER OF STUDENTS expanding? I wonder how come no is asking just how did Jessica come to be here illegally? She has a PASSPORT????
Did she and her mother come here for a visit to DisneyWorld and then just stayed????? Sounds like that is the reason for the expired passport!
And I becha that although ILLEGAL FOREIGN NATIONALS pay federal taxes with the ITIN, they aren't paying state and local taxes INCOME TAXES!
Whose name is the license plate registered in??? And she wants to me a lawyer ? No wonder. She's been cheating and lying her entire life in this country and now wants to represent LAW AND ORDER? ROFLMAO!
This is a sad situation. The saddest part is that this young lady has lived in our nation for over 10 years and never bothered to apply for citizenship. Her actions have been deceitful as well as illegal. She has stolen from the people of the United States and Georgia. If this illegal is not deported with judgments against her then I will choose 2 laws that I don't want to obey and have at it.
I agree and disagree, as anyone else whom has an opinion should. First and foremost, Dan... you are not as smart as you think. Allowing yourself some room for improvement might just do you some good. Typing opposing arguments does not make you appear smarter rather argumentative and ridiculous. Hence, not smart.
Second, is the issue at hand... is this adult (because she is no child) educated enough to understand she IS a criminal or not?! Having observed, listened, and pondered about her response on national news... she sure doesn't seem to be receiving the information about laws, immigration, and societal responsibility. Driving without a license... is it legal only when you think you are entitled to do so with a Mexican passport? I am sure most would agree this adult female should have learned by now, if not sooner, that holding a Mexican passport (as reported on CNN) and residing in America -or any other country illegally is criminal. The keyword is "illegally" which does not require a lengthy explanation about her character, hopes/wishes, hobbies, or favorite color.
Point three: she broke a law, she has to accept the punishment. And, as a Mexican-American myself, it truly angers me to see that she brought race into this equation of breaking a law or several laws and then thinking she has earned a free-pass because she was never caught doing anything wrong in the last 10 years.
Some people will argue that she is a great human being and deserves a chance. Sure, sounds good in theory... so should we as a nation then allow everyone enter our country illegally, break laws at their own will, and then scream racism -when they are caught? Sounds a bit extreme? Well, it is the mentality that supporters of this adult female criminal are contending. How ridiculous!!
One final point... many supporters would like to point out all her great qualities and past efforts (paying taxes, contributing to society, etc) are her reasons for the government to look the other way. I wonder, if such a defense would work for other criminals, in a real court of law and not in the media's court.... mmmm....
Azabache,
Have you been to Kennesaw? The student population in the last 20 years as exploded. It's also a state university so the idea that someone didn't get in because Jessica did doesn't hold. Anyone who wants in to KSU can get it. That's a great aspect of the university.
There are constant comments about undocumented people not paying taxes. This just isn't born out. If someone has a tax ID number, and has federal taxes taken out of a check they will also have state taxes taken out, won't they? Local taxes are mostly property taxes and sales taxes. Anyone who buys anything or pays rent, regardless of immigrant status, pays those taxes.
The rest of the post isn't worth responding to.
The anonymous post about Jessica not seeking citizenship status does provide an opportunity. My understanding is if Jessica, or anyone who was out of status, were to try to apply for citizenship she would have to leave the US and apply from her country of origin. This process could take up to 10 years, assuming she made it all the way through. Frankly, choosing not to go through such a process seems like a rational choice.
This is a response to the anonymous agree/disagree post.
Your first paragraph is an ad hominem attack. That is an attempt to persuade which links the validity of a premise to a characteristic or belief of the person advocating the premise. You assign a motive to my posts without any evidence that you know what my motive is. Given that you cannot know what I'm thinking, you instead are attacking my person rather than my argument. In fact, if someone posts an argument and someone else posts a counter argument, that is called a debate.
The rest of your post seems to hinge on the idea that Jessica violated a criminal statute. Please post what criminal statute she violated. My understanding that violation of immigration law is a civil violation, not a criminal one. Civil violation are not treated like criminal ones because they are different. Your argument, indeed most of the nativist arguments, conflate the two. So there is no "real court of law" because immigration cases do not go to criminal courts. In civil courts one regularly brings in the character of the person. When I was up on a speeding ticket the judge took into consideration my previous good driving record and lowered the fine. He could have dismissed it all together if he chose. But even in criminal cases, the character of the accused is used as mitigating evidence.
If i commit the same "crimes" as Jessica did-- driving w/o license, w/o insurance and giving false statement to police.. I will be brought to court and will be charged with a crime...because I AM AN AMERICAN CITIZEN.. its not fair.. It looks like the illegals now have more rights and given more protections than us Americans.
Dan, you are full of it... Ummm try again. The classes at any University have limits on how many students they can have in the class each semester. When you register for classes it will say something like 10/36 which means there are 10 people registered for the class and there are 36 seats. So, Wrong! As for a fake ssn.. Are you kidding me.. What part of that is legal? What part of that is right? This is a disgrace to every immigrant that has come to this country and done what they needed to do. They worked hard to become legal in this country and you are sitting there saying oh she is a good person( even though she broke a dozen laws) so she shouldn't have to do anything everyone else has to do. BS.
Dear moderator(s)...
Are you actual this DAN character? Because it sure seems that you are allowing this character to post at will while limiting others to post their comments. Unless of course, you moderator(s) are siding with this DAN's ideology. And, if so... then just say so. Can you clarify? Thanks
The debate over whether Jessica's life in the US is valid keeps degrading into an argument over whether she broke the letter of the law. I think this is obviously because there are no other reasons people can dig up to attack her residency here. I mean, Dan has raised good points in the debate so far, and discredited pretty much everything else people have brought up.
If Jessica (1) pays taxes that contribute to the wellbeing of US citizens,(2) her attendance in a university isn't stealing a college education from others, and (3) she may want to continue living in the US and practicing a worthwhile profession that betters our society--then she seems like a pretty great person. The only problem people can raise with her is that she broke a law, and considering the above factors, I think it makes more sense to start questioning validity of the immigration law that wants to kick Jessica out.
What's the point of a law that tries to kick people out of the US who work hard and contribute positively to society? Isn't that the very idea of what a public "citizen" is? Didn't the founding fathers intend for our laws to protect and cultivate this kind of person?
While folks are on this blog posting about the criminality of this young woman or not, I'm not willing or even able to think about this situation in that context. She is human a woman a thinker and probably a dreamer. And she much like other folks in this world have the ability to fight for Freedom, to live, to love and to work anywhere she pleases along with me and with you. Is this not the American Dream?
What is the difference between an immigrant woman seeking a higher education and you? And your daughter your sister you friend? These are people who much like you and like me want something better for themselves and what does it matter if they have a 9 digit code that tracks them in the system?
I fight for freedom and if you are interested in this fight join me at www.repealcoalition.org
Bless her heart! She came here at age 10 and knows no other country but the USA as her home. This is the most ridiculous miscarriage of justice!...the "Barney Fife's are alive and well in Cobb...makes me ill!
When does common sense enter the picture? Or have our "laws" cut through that now too?
Honestly, the vehemence with which those who believe she should be deported is extremely scary to me.
There was a time not so long ago when this was a land of refuge for those wanting better lives. We ARE a land of immigrants. Check into geneology sometime, how do you think ANY of us got here????? The righteousness and entitlement exemplified by those opposed to Jessica's staying here is so odd to me because their families were immigrants not too many generations ago at all! Oh yeah, I forgot...that was when compassion still existed.
ELLIOTT:
One of the basic requirements for legal immigrants is GOOD MORAL CHARACTER. I guess thats what you want too out of our immigrants. So don't be suprised if various posts try to discuss her issues with the law. That is also the first issue tha CIS will look into. A lot, I mean thousands of others have been deported due to infractions that they committed even decades ago. Pres. Clinton I believe signed this into law in 1998. Thats the law they also used to expel many middle eastern men post 9/11.
TARYN: You said
"What is the difference between an immigrant woman seeking a higher education and you?"
The difference between me and her is I studied here legally. I was an international student long time ago and I followed every single rule. Ask any international students, those with F-1 Visas and they will tell you how everyone struggle to study legally (appear before a consul, show proof of financial support, PAY OUT-OF-STATE TUITION,don't commit any crime, maintain a good GPA, enroll in atleast 12 credits per sem., observe strictly the laws of the U.S. ..went through physical/medical/vaccinations to protect this country, did finger printing/criminal/background checks, etc..., don't work w/o authorization and pay taxes if you did work..etc etc..)... those are the differences between a documented student and undocumented one.
Viva Jessica! She is past the first hurdle and headed for the finish line. I know that once she graduates she will go on to law school and become one of our nation's most effective advocates for the rights and opportunities which Hispanic immigrants deserve.