What happened? America is immigrante
Colombian Couple Deported; Sons Can Stay
Friday, October 26, 2007
MIAMI -- A Colombian couple who fled their home country in 1990 and overstayed their visas by more than a decade are being deported despite the attention their family's case has received.
Ileana Gomez and her husband, Julio, were ordered to fly back to Colombia next Tuesday.
"What happened? America is immigrante," Ileana Gomez said.
"My sons stay here," Julio Gomez said. "America is a wonderful country."
Their sons, Juan and Alex Gomez, were allowed to stay in the U.S. at least until March of 2009. Both are college students, and the efforts of Juan's American friends to get Congress involved on his behalf made national news.
However, their parents have no more legal options. They're heading back to Colombia, leaving their sons, home and business behind.
"In Colombia, I don't have anything to do," Julio Gomez said. "Colombia, no work, no nothing. I don't know."
"We're very disappointed about what happened, obviously," lawyer Fernando Rojas said. "The family is extremely disappointed right now. They're going to spend whatever little time they have left with each other, and it looks like they'll be going back home Tuesday. We're very disappointed at the outcome."
The brothers' chances for obtaining legal status in the only country they've ever really known took a blow in Congress on Thursday.
The U.S. voted 52 to 48 in favor of the Dream Act. However, 60 votes were needed to advance the bill. Senate Republicans, with backing from the Bush administration, opposed it.
The Dream Act is written to help young people, like the Gomez brothers.
The act's qualifications are as follows:
# Children of illegal immigrants who entered the country before age 16
# Children who have been in the U.S. at least five years
# Those who have graduated from high school with an unblemished record
By meeting those qualifications, an individual could obtain legal status for up to six years under the bill. They would have to spend at least two years in college or in the military to qualify for permanent status.
There was no word on if Democrats would revive the legislation.
