UPDATE: A new video:

Jorge-Alonso Chehade came to the U.S. from Peru as a child and is now facing deportation next Friday, September 25. He and a friend accidentally crossed the Canadian border while trying not to violate traffic laws, a March 2009 incident which, ironically, led to his arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and sadly, his pending deportation.

Watch Alonso's call to action:

Jorge-Alonso Chehade graduated from High School with honors, attended community college and worked hard enough to transfer to a top-tier university, where he received a degree in Business Administration from the prestigious Michael G. Foster School of Business at the University of Washington. He is quite literally the embodiment of the American Dream, but our broken immigration system has prevented him from continuing down his career path after graduation. His story is part of a broader narrative of the challenges faced by immigrant students who have grown up in the U.S. and embraced American ideals, but are unable to fully contribute to our country because current immigration law does not provide a mechanism for them to do so.

On his Facebook Support Group, Alonso writes:

I am very grateful to the many opportunities that America has offered me and I am ready to give back. This is why I would like to stay in the country, work, pay taxes, and bring change by joining all national efforts in support of the DREAM Act.

Alonso has earned the chance to live and work here and call America home--and ICE needs to hear from us that he should be allowed to stay. The goal is to get at least 3,000 signatures--we currently have around 2,500. Sign onto U.S. Senators Patty Murry and Maria Cantwell's letter to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Alonso's behalf, requesting that they defer action on his deportation.

We've been successful with Walter Lara and Taha Mowla, now let's do all we can for Jorge Alonso! Please let your friends and family know how they can sign the petition on his behalf too: http://action.seiu.org/page/invite/invitejorgeltr. Later this week, Alonso will deliver the signed petitions in person to ICE.

Twitter & Facebook Support: Support the DREAM Act & allowing Alonso to stay in America on Twitter by posting this message: Another #dreamact student in trouble - STOP @jache0220 Deportation. Co-sign Senators' letters and RT http://t.seiu.org/zr8bqw #alonsochehade. Join his Support Group on Facebook here, where regular updates are being posted.

SEIU's latest Dream Act campaign on behalf of Herta Llushlo has generated over 3,700 letter to the Dept. of Homeland Security.

Herta sent the following email to her supporters earlier today:

Dear Friend,

I'm Herta Llushlo, and thank you - for all of the calls made and all the letters written to DHS and ICE on my behalf, I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart.  I also want to give you an update on next steps.

First, the good news: I've been issued an order of supervision which means I'm not being deported-- for now.  The reality of the situation is that an order of supervision is not a great position to be in. I have to report back to ICE on November 9, 2009 and learn my fate.

You've helped me buy some time but I'm not out of the woods. We still have work to do to keep the pressure on DHS to not deport me back to the country I left when I was 11 years old.

Can you help me reach my goal of sending 5,000 letters to DHS and ICE? 

I've recorded a special message for you and after you watch it, please sign on to my letter.

I have to tell you that on Wednesday, the day I was scheduled to be deported to Albania, my bags were packed and I had them with me when I reported to the Detroit ICE office.  I truly didn't know what to expect--and I especially didn't expect to see a stack of letters written on my behalf, over 9 inches tall, sitting on the officer's desk.

That's over 3,000 letters!  It's an amazing response and I couldn't have done it without you.

Now, we just need to convince Secretary Napolitano to grant an order of deferred action for me.

Help me reach my goal of sending 5,000 letters to DHS and ICE by clicking here:

http://action.seiu.org/page/speakout/dhsrequest4herta

Thank you for all of your support!

Herta Llushlo  

Here's Herta's special message:

Today, after days of activism by Senator Carl Levin, Representative Carolyn Kilpatrick and thousands of grassroots activists, Herta reported to to the Detroit ICE office at 10:30 am this morning, and was granted and extension on her deportation to Albania, until November 9, 2009.

Herta issued a statement saying:

"Today's decision from DHS comes as a great relief to me and to my family and I am eternally thankful to Senator Levin, Representative Kilpatrick and the thousands of activists who rallied on my behalf. I began my day--bags packed--not knowing where I would rest my head tonight. I close the day with an even greater faith in the goodness and fairness of this great country.

"While this temporary extension is a great first step in my struggle, there is much more work to do to ensure I can remain, pursue my dreams to become an engineer, and give back to the country that I love. Today, I am taking a deep breath; but tomorrow, I will be back out there fighting for my future and the future of thousands of students just like me who want nothing more than to stay, serve, and work in the country that they know and love."

And fight we will, because while this is certainly a step in the right direction, Herta will still have to report back to ICE on November 9th--and that's not good enough.

DHS and ICE need to grant Herta deferred action on her deportation.

We can't let up on DHS and ICE. Help us reach our goal of 5,000 letters by the end of the week!

Already, because of your efforts, over 2,500 letters have been sent to DHS and ICE. Now help us reach our goal of 5,000 letters by the week's end.

Go to http://action.seiu.org/page/invite/hertacallinvite and sign onto Herta's letter to DHS and ICE.

In the coming weeks, the Llusho family and a growing group of activists will continue to push for deferred action on Herta's case, which would allow her to remain in the country while she pursues her college education and while Congress considers immigration reform--particularly the DREAM Act. The DREAM Act would allow immigrant students who were brought to the US as children, such as Herta, to become permanent residents upon completing college or military service, thereby allowing these students to fulfill their potential and fully contribute the their communities.

For more on comprehensive immigration reform, visit www.seiu.org/immigration.

UPDATE - 5:44 pm

We're already half way to our goal of 5,000 letters to DHS and ICE. Take action now and if you've already signed onto Herta's letter, please forward it to a friend!

DREAM activist Walter Lara sent out an update on where things stand with Herta this morning.

At this point, The Department of Homeland Security and ICE, have still not made a decision on Herta's application for deferred action.

Today, at 10:30 am, EST, Herta will present herself to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office in Detroit - where she will learn if she stays or if she will be deported.

Secretary Janet Napolitano, Assistant Secretary for ICE John Morton, and ICE field officer Vincent Clausen need to hear from you - right now.

Click here to write your letter:

http://action.seiu.org/writedhs4herta

Already, thousands of people around the country have rallied for Herta, writing letters, asking that she be permitted to remain in the United States.

I know Herta would not want us to let up, in fact she's counting on us not to.

Click here to write your letter:

http://action.seiu.org/writedhs4herta

We'll update you again as soon as we learn something new, but in the meantime, keep Herta and her family in your thoughts and prayers.

Walter Lara is an honor student who has lived in the U.S. since his parents brought him here from Argentina when he was just 3 years old. Almost 20 years later, Walter is set to be deported this July 4th weekend.

On February 17, 2009, Walter was with his boss (a DirectTV contractor) about to get on a ferry that would take him to Fisher Island so they could work on some installations. In ten minutes, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities surrounded the vehicle and bombarded Walter with questions which he innocently responded to.

This is Walter's story --

UPDATE, 7/1/09 5:00 p.m.: Voice mail boxes at DHS are full, thanks to more than 500 calls that poured in to Sec. Napolitano today. The campaign will resume tomorrow DHS reopens at 9:00 a.m.

1. Join the Facebook page as an act of solidarity and to find out specifics of Walter's case.

2. Co-Sign senator Bill Nelson's letter to DHS: http://action.seiu.org/page/s/nelsonletterblog. The letter will be delivered to Homeland Security tomorrow -- so please sign it now.

3. Follow Walter on Twitter