For Immediate Release                                 
Wednesday, June 27, 2006                                      

Contacts:
Germonique Jones, 202-494-9876
Cheryl Aguilar, 202-360-7867

Statement Regarding Marie Gonzalez One-Year Deferred Deportation and the Importance of the DREAM Act

Washington DC- On Thursday, June 22, the Center for Community Change was notified that Marie Gonzalez has received another year of deferred deportation from the Department of Homeland Security. Marie, an undocumented immigrant student, faced deportation to her native Costa Rica July 1. However, thanks partly to Senator Richard Durbin (D-Illinois), who has been helping Marie with her case, Marie will be allowed to continue to stay in the U.S. until July 2007. This extension is her second.

"Marie is one bright light in this nasty immigration debate," says Center for Community Change Executive Director Deepak Bhargava, "However, there are 65,000 other high school students that graduate each year who are being left behind. Though they grew up in the United States, they face a barrier to higher education, are unable to work legally, and live in a constant state of fear that they will be detected by immigration authorities. They deserve an opportunity to better themselves and their communities. They deserve this just as much as any other young person in the United States."

Marie, who begins her sophomore year this fall at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, was brought to the U.S. by her parents at the age of 5. She faced deportation in July 2005, but was awarded a one-year extension. She has played a leading role in the fight to pass the DREAM Act, a bill that would allow undocumented immigrant students who have graduated from U.S. high schools to remain here if they attend college or join the military.

"We need the DREAM Act in order to address a very flawed aspect of our current immigration law," says Bhargava, "we need to legally recognize that these young people belong here and have a significant, positive contribution to make in the country they call home. The DREAM Act moves us one step closer to achieving the goal of developing an educated class of promising immigrant students who can fully contribute to our society."