You’ve read about him here before, but I don’t think too much can be said about the plight of the UA honors student, Jonathan Chavez, facing deportation to Peru.
The article here is by Lowell Grisham, Episcopalian pastor in Fayetteville, who writes eloquently of Chavez.
The university wishes students like Jonathan could pursue their education and enter school under the same tuition and requirements as their Arkansas high school classmates. Honors College Dean Bob McMath said undocumented students at the University of Arkansas seem to exemplify the American dream: “Hard working, family-oriented, optimistic.”
The university urged our lawmakers to pass the DREAM Act, which would give these good students a path toward citizenship. Arkansas Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor were the only two Democrats to help a Republican filibuster kill the bill when it had majority support.
Since Jonathan is unlawfully present, he is not eligible for adjustment of his status, according to his attorney. When a visa is finally available for him, he will be required to complete the process at the consulate in Peru, and his departure will trigger a 10-year bar on his return to the United States. We’ll lose one of our most promising young people. It’s a broken and unjust immigration system.
Amen, Bro. Grisham.