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.

We did it!

Thanks to 24 hours of your calls and faxes, the Department of Homeland Security has done the right thing and deferred action on Taha's deportation.

But we can't stop here--not while 2 million young people who were brought to the U.S. years ago as undocumented immigrant children remain at risk for having their lives in this country cut short and dreams deferred.

Not while we are still in the business of stopping one deportation at a time.

As a result of your actions that resulted in DHS's decision to let Taha stay in the U.S., he will be allowed to finish college and continue his dream to become a pediatrician. Please take a few minutes and send Taha a congratulatory message.

SEIU is teaming up with Dreamactivist.org to help stop the deportation of another Dream Act student, Taha.

Like Walter Lara, Taha Mowla was brought to the USA when he was a toddler.

He has lived in Jersey City for more than 16 years.

On July 29, 2009, he will be deported to Bangladesh - a country that he has no memory of or connection to.

If Taha returns to Bangladesh, he will never have the chance to complete the education he has worked so hard all of his life to acquire.

Taha doesn't read or write Bengali. He doesn't even know its alphabet. Moving back there will mean moving to a foreign country where he'll have to start his life again from scratch.

Taha has been educated in America, K - 12. He achieved many awards in high school such as Academic Author Award, Principal's Award, Honor Roll and Merit Wall.

His teachers opened his eyes to so many great opportunities in this country. His dream career is to be a pediatrician, working in a clinic or hospital environment, and giving back to our great country that has given him so much.

Taha has been accepted to St. Peter's College in Jersey City, NJ to study Marketing and Pre-Med.

Picture yourself in Taha's shoes. All that he needs help with is getting permission to continue living in the country he loves and calls home so that he can complete his education--and spend the rest of his life giving back to this country, the only home he can ever remember living in.

Here are 5 ways you can help:

1. Spread the word about Taha's case: http://action.seiu.org/page/s/meettaha

2. Co-sign Sen. Menendez's letter on behalf of Taha: http://action.seiu.org/page/s/menendezltr

3. Call DHS and tell Sec. Napolitano to defer action on Taha's deportation: http://call.seiu.org/9/calldhs

4. Call New Jersey Sens. Menendez, Lautenberg and Congressman Sires and ask them to file a private bill on Taha's behalf. : http://call.seiu.org/9/callcongress4taha

5. Join Taha's Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=233343415360

We did it!

Today, Walter Lara was supposed to be sent back to Argentina -- a country that he left when he was 3 years old and has no memory of. But thanks to everyone who rallied around Walter's cause and took action, he's not being deported today.

Here's what grassroots and immigration rights activists did together on Walter's behalf:

• Over 3,000 people co-signed Sen. Nelson's letter
  
• Over 1,000 calls were made to the Department of Homeland Security--so many that their message system was overwhelmed.

Thanks to DREAMer activism, Walter did not have to spend Independence Day saying goodbye to his family. But we can't stop here--not while 2 million young people who were brought to the U.S. years ago as undocumented immigrant children remain at risk for having their lives in this country cut short and dreams deferred. Not while we are still in the business of stopping one deportation at a time.

Here's a message from Walter on how we can clear a path for other undocumented students and support higher education for all students:

To Secretary Janet Napolitano, Senator Bill Nelson, Representatives Corrine Brown, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, words cannot express my gratitude. Their action is an acknowledgment that our immigration laws are broken.

But personal interventions won't help the tens of thousands of others in the immigrant community who stand to benefit from passage of the DREAM Act.

This is why we need Congress to pass the DREAM Act.

Call your Senator right now and ask them to support the DREAM Act.

I was lucky, but the reality is that someone else is being deported today.

Please call them.

Thank you,
Walter Lara

Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and the blogosphere have been buzzing over the past 48 hours, as thousands of grassroots activists and Congressional leaders contacted the Department of Homeland Security to stop the deportation of Walter Lara, a 23 year-old honor student facing deportation this Independence Day weekend. Today, Walter Lara was granted a one year stay of his deportation.

In response to DHS's deferment, Walter issued the following statement:

"Today, words cannot express my gratitude to Secretary Janet Napolitano, Senator Bill Nelson, Representatives Corrine Brown, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, and the thousands of grassroots activists whose unified efforts have given me a second chance to live out my American Dream.

"As I look to celebrate Independence Day with family and friends this weekend, I have once again seen what makes America the best country in the world. Americans are fair, just, and kind. When we unite our strength to defend our shared values -opening rather than shutting the doors of opportunity - we can achieve anything. As I have said before, America is the only country I have known and I am an American. I have never been more proud to say that than I am today.

"But even as the dust settles on this tremendous personal victory, my sights are clearly set on the struggle ahead to build a long-term future for me and the more than 2 million like me whose lives may be cut short and dreams deferred.

"The action taken by the leaders in Congress and the Department of Homeland Security is an acknowledgment that our immigration laws are broken. The DREAM Act, if passed, would help people like myself, who came here through no fault of their own, stay in this country, be put on a path to citizenship and contribute to our nation."

More background on Walter and the campaign that spread that wildfire to keep him from being deported after the break.

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

This week, SEIU Executive VP Eliseo Medina is in Mexico City meeting with key legislators and labor leaders on the importance of working together to improve labor rights and economic opportunities for workers on both sides of the border. "In order to build an immigration system that puts an end to the senseless suffering of so many families on both sides of the border, labor, social and political organizations in both countries must work together to build comprehensive reforms that are just and humane," Medina remarked to El Universal during a press conference with key reporters in Mexico City.

In other immigration reform news....

A temporary victory on E-Verify: On Friday two harmful E-Verify amendments were defeated in the House Appropriations committee for the Department of Homeland Security. Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA) and Rep. Ken Calvart (R-CA) had proposed two separate E-Verify amendments to the House Appropriations bill for FY2010, but both amendments failed. The Kingston amendment would have required government contractors to run all employees and new hires through E-Verify. Rep. Calvart's amendment would have made E-Verify permanent in the House Appropriations bill, but it received resistance from, most notably, Rep. David Price who argued that the E-Verify will be addressed during a larger immigration reform debate.

Bush Rule Bolstering Deportations Is Withdrawn: Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. reversed a Bush administration ruling that had weakened the ability of immigrants facing deportation to argue that their lawyers did a bad job. The original order, issued just days before the inauguration of President Obama, held that immigrants did not have a constitutional right to effective lawyers in their deportation hearings. That 11th-hour decision abruptly closed off one of the most common avenues for appealing deportation decisions.

U.S. Temporarily Suspends Policy of Deporting Widows of Citizens: The Department of Homeland Security said last Tuesday it is temporarily freezing a policy of deporting widows and widowers of U.S. citizens, a sign of the Obama administration's interest in new approaches to immigration. Only a few hundred people were at risk of deportation under the policy, but critics viewed it as one of the most painful consequences of President George W. Bush's immigration crackdown.