Victory: Steve Li Returns Home! Hope for a DREAM?

It's true.  Somewhere deep in the darkest pits of the system there exists a heart - and every once in awhile we get a glimpse of it.

This week California Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced a private bill that allowed for the release of Steve Li, a San Francisco college student who had spent the past two months in detainment awaiting deportation to Peru – the country his family migrated from when he was just eleven. Completely unaware that he was residing in the country illegally until the moment his door was busted down in an immigration raid, Li's story caught massive attention and shed a humanizing light on an issue that is often oversimplified.

Li's case was far from the stereotypical circumstance when discussing immigration policy in the political arena. He didn't maliciously sneak over the border to squeeze out an anchor baby, nor did he cargo himself in the back of a van in order to exploit the economy through a thriving career in grape-picking. He simply did as a good young person should: he followed his parents, went to college and pursued a career in nursing. Regardless of one's personal politics, it's hard to deny that sending a kid back to a country where he knows absolutely nobody is pretty messed up (haven't you seen Home Alone 2?).

Upon the announcement that Li was granted freedom, the best that conservative commenters could muster was along the lines of "If there was proper legislation, he would've been deported at 11 instead of 20!" Niiiiiice. Words of wisdom from the type of person who would probably have no qualms with smacking Elian Gonzalez in the face with an oar. When dealing with the immigration issue on a person-by-person basis, it's much more difficult to maintain the political stance 'deport them all.' Plus, someone like Li cannot be accused of "sucking the system dry" when he's sitting in detainment telling reporters that he can't wait to go home so he can study.

The bigger message we should learn from Li's case is that a person's story is seldom ever cut-and-dry, and effective immigration reform requires legislation that considers the diversity in past and present situations that immigrants experience.  Senator Feinstein addressed Li's case largely due to the overwhelming number of petitions for Li, such as the hundreds of signatures collected on Change.org.

The battle is not over. The private bill only delays his deportation process by 75 days, and when asked about her decision to introduce Li's private bill, Feinstein referenced the DREAM Act, which still holds the key to Li's lasting peace of mind. If passed, the DREAM Act could be a saving grace for many young people who find themselves in situations similar to Li's – who simply want to live in the country they were raised to call home.

---

GOT A TIP FOR US? Is there a story or campaign in your area that we'd want to know about? E-mail us at humanrightstips@change.org. Please also follow Change.org's Human Rights page on Facebook and Twitter. Photo Credit: 依靈