Wrong turn on highway may lead to WA man's removal

[October 01, 2009]  SEATTLE (AP) -- All it took was a wrong turn for Jorge-Alonso Chehade to face deportation.

But that wrong turn also brought him attention and praise from Washington state's congressional delegation, pro bono attorneys and maybe, just maybe, a chance to stay in the United States.

In March, the 22-year-old college graduate was visiting friends in Bellingham at Western Washington University. On the way back early in the morning, tired from a night's fun and unfamiliar with the area, Chehade and a friend took the north Interstate 5 ramp instead of the southbound one.

Bellingham is about a 20 minute drive from the Blaine border crossing into Canada. The border's location is well marked along the way.

But before they noticed, Chehade said, they had missed the last exit. The two friends had to clear U.S. customs and Chehade was arrested by border officers. He was sent to the immigration detention center in Tacoma, where he spent two weeks before being released on bail.

"I left the country by an inch," Chehade said.

Brought here on a visa from Peru, Chehade stayed on illegally since his teen years. After years of treading carefully, the wrong turn tripped him up. Since then, Chehade has rallied a variety of support in his fight to stay.

Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Seattle, and Democratic Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell have all written letters of support for Chehade. McDermott went further, introducing a private bill in Congress last week asking Congress to give Chehade permanent residency.

"This young man came to the United States with his parents and has overcome a number of obstacles to lead an exemplary life in the United States, including graduation from the University of Washington in 2009," McDermott said in a statement. "As a longtime supporter of the American DREAM Act... I am proud to play a small role in trying to help him stay in the United States with his community, which loves him."

Chehade is also receiving backing from DreamActivist.org -- a Web site that has emerged to assist undocumented students facing deportation by connecting them to immigration activists and labor unions that might help them. It mobilizes its e-mail network of thousands of people to lobby for the deportation delays.

The Web site, as its name suggests, is supportive of the so-called Dream Act, a bill that would give undocumented students a path to permanent residency if they attend college or join the military. The site is run by seven undocumented students.

The Dream Act legislation has stalled in Congress the past two years. Supporters hope the bill will be taken up again when comprehensive immigration reform is expected to be taken up next year.

Since July, DreamActivist has helped delay the deportation of three students, one each from New Jersey, Michigan and Florida.

One of those students, Herta Llusho, 20, immigrated with her mother from Albania when she was 11 in 2001. The mother and daughter sought political asylum, which was denied by U.S. immigration courts, and the have been told they must leave the country.

Llusho, a student at University of Detroit-Mercy in Michigan, joined DreamActivists and began a fax and phone campaign, sending 5,000 faxes to her congressional representatives and Homeland Security officials. She obtained a few weeks extension, but her goal is to stay permanently.

"I really don't like to tell people my story, but as I realized there are more stories like mine," Llusho said, "I thought this is a big problem that needs to be solved."

In Washington, Chehade furiously used Internet networking sites and tools to reach people. He made YouTube videos and spoke out in educational forums in Seattle and eastern Washington.

The decision to go public is a big one for undocumented students like Chehade and Llusho, particularly if their families are illegally in the country.

It's a risk, though, that some are willing to take.

In a letter to the pro bono lawyers now representing Chehade, ICE field office director Neil Clark wrote, "You make no mention of (Chehade's) family in the United States although the agency is aware that his parents and siblings are here, presumably unlawfully..."

Chehade's lawyers have advised him to stay in the U.S. while he continues his fight, instead of voluntarily leaving as he originally planned.

The attorneys also requested ICE defer Chehade's removal, which they have so far denied.

"This individual had ample access to due process and immigration proceedings," ICE spokeswoman Lorie Dankers said. "The judge found he did not have a legal basis to remain in the United States. ICE has the responsibility to carry out the judge's order."

Now Chehade has an order of removal, meaning immigration authorities could arrest him any day.

[Associated Press; By MANUEL VALDES]

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