Can Obama save Mandeep Chahal American dream?

The Barack Obama administration's failure to pass the DREAM (acronym for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) Act may jeopardise the dreams and the expectations of Mandeep Chahal, an honours pre-medical student at the University of California, who could be deported to India on June 21.

A blog about Mandeep was posted on America's Voice, a national immigration reform advocacy group. The group, which has posted the message on Facebook too, has launched an emergency campaign to stop Mandeep's deportation.

E-mails circulated by her friends state that if Mandeep and her mother are forced to leave, their family will be torn apart, as her two siblings who are US citizens will be left without their mother. 

Mandeep will present herself for immediate deportation this Tuesday, June 21.

The e-mail said, "As her friends, we must act swiftly and powerfully to prevent this atrocity from taking place."

Mandeep was pursuing her education in Neurology, Physiology, and Behaviour and came to the United States with her mother when she was just six years old (14 years ago). She didn't even learn of her illegal status until she reached high school. She grew up in Mountain View, California and attended Santa Rita Elementary School and Egan Junior High School and  graduated from Los Altos High School in 2009.

The US Customs and Immigration Enforcement is now trying to deport Mandeep. What most of her classmates did not know was that Mandeep is also an undocumented immigrant.

Mandeep has served as president of the anti-genocide coalition and was in high school class voted as 'Most Likely to Save the World'. 

In his speech on immigration reform in El Paso, Texas, on May 11 2011, President Barack Obama spoke about the importance of providing a path to citizenship for committed students raised in the United States -- like Mandeep. 

The blog says President Obama does have the authority to grant administrative relief, which would make qualified DREAM Act youth safe from deportation, but the President has routinely said that he can't use his executive authority to end their pain.

The DREAM Act was first introduced in the Senate on August 1, 2001 and most recently on May 11, 2011 when the bill was re-introduced in the US Senate. If ever passed this bill would provide conditional permanent residency to certain illegal and deportable alien students who graduate from US high schools, who are of good moral character and arrived in the US as minors.

In December 2010, the DREAM Act fell just five votes short dealing a harsh blow to the bill that would have allowed some undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children to gain legal status.

Dear friends,
I want to thank everyone who has embraced our story and spoken out on behalf of my mother and me. My family will be at home tonight, together, because of you.
This morning, my mother and I were taken into custody at the ICE office in San Francisco. We were there less than two hours before ICE decided to grant us a temporary stay and release us. I have no doubt that their decision was a direct result of your faxes and calls to the Obama Administration. Please continue these efforts until we reach a definitive resolution of our case.

I will keep you informed in the continuing push for lasting relief. I look forward to sharing more of my story once the case is resolved. Once again, I would like to express my profound gratitude to the thousands of people who have rallied together in support of my family. I cannot begin to tell you how much it means. Your activism could help create an America where no family has to go through what mine has.

Sincerely,
Mandeep Chahal

Please help me stop the deportation of Dream Act students Mandeep Chahal (A# 76726517) and Jagdish Kaur (A# 76726516)

ACT NOW: Stop the deportation of Mandeep Chahal
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=153461998058212
TO SIGN YOUR NAME TO A LETTER IN SUPPORT OF MANDEEP (a UC Davis student facing imminent deportation), CLICK HERE:

Dear friends,
Many of you know Mandeep Chahal as an esteemed classmate, a committed human rights activist, or simply a good friend. She is, without a doubt, my best friend. What most of you don't know is that Mandeep is also an undocumented immigrant. She came to the United States with her mother when she was just six years old—14 long years ago. She didn’t even learn of her illegal status until we were in high school.
U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) is now trying to deport Mandeep. They have ordered her to present herself for immediate deportation this Tuesday, June 21. As her friends, we must act swiftly and powerfully to prevent this atrocity from taking place. Mandeep is a pre-med student in the honors program at UC Davis. She serves as President of the anti-genocide coalition there. By our high school class, she was voted “Most Likely to Save the World.” Our community is where Mandeep belongs, and she deserves to stay.
America’s Voice, a national immigration reform advocacy group, has launched an emergency campaign to stop Mandeep’s deportation. The plan is to flood the Department of Homeland Security with hundreds of faxes by Monday morning.
To have a fax sent on your behalf, go to http://americasvoiceonline.org/page/speakout/mandeep.org/page/speakout/mandeepand click the “Participate” button. If you know Mandeep personally, please edit the letter text to say so. Write about how long you have known her and why you value her presence in our community. Be sure to sign your name at the end. Afterward, invite all your Facebook friends to this group. Share the petition link via email with everyone you know. We must reach everyone we possibly can TODAY.
Thank you all for your swift action in this urgent situation. With your help, we can keep Mandeep in our lives.
In solidarity,Julia Duperrault

http://americasvoiceonline.org/page/speakout/mandeep?js=false