Original

Our group started out with no idea where we wanted to go with deportation. We first
thought that we could change the way "ICE" picked up immigrants and kept them in immigration
jail. We thought that the procedure was inhumane. When I visited the immigration holding cell
in Spanish Fork, Utah, I saw at least 75 inmates and about 20 beds. This viewing wasn't a
voluntary visit, my step dad got deported. The morning that he was arrested, he was in the
backyard repairing the fence. When "ICE" knocked on the door, my mom answered. They asked
where my step dad was and she told them. "ICE" tackled him to the ground. In the United States,
law enforcement officers need to read those in handcuffs their Miranda rights. They didn't say
anything. I thought this was inhumane because my step dad didn't resist. Why was it necessary
for "ICE" to tackle him? There have been many cases like mine and thats what we wanted to fix.
In order for our original change to work, we needed footage of the acts. We planned to inform
the entire public of these inhumane acts and with enough support of the people, it would
eventually land in the state and local legislatures. Although, immigration jails and courts do not
allow any media in their buildings. Since I was the only one in my group that knew what
inhumane acts that were preformed during a pick up and holding, we felt that my testimony
wasn't enough to complete the project. I suggested that we find others like me, but the list of
candidates didn't want to say anything because they were afraid they'll get in trouble with
immigration themselves.

Then we thought about ways that one can avoid deportation. This took us a while because
we thought the only way to avoid deportation is to run. It wasn't until we read about dual
citizenship in our book, that the light bulb lit up. Many people that we've talked to said that the
citizenship process is difficult and takes forever. We figured that our new solution would be to
outline the citizenship process in a way that the Latino community wouldn't be intimidated by it.
When Ericka said, "What about those who are already in jail? They need help as well." We
jumped onto the Immigration and Customs Enforcement website to research immigrants' rights
and the deportation process. We found at least three ways that one can avoid being deported. One
of them is the suspension of deportation.

Suspension of deportation would be considered as long as the immigrant has resided in the
United States for at least seven years and if the immigrant hasn't committed any crime. The
immigrant needs to fill out application 240.65 and pay $280. The court will decide if the
applicant is eligible for the suspension of deportation.

If the suspension doesn't work, immigrants can apply for the wavier. Wavier I-212 is an
application that assists those who have already been removed. They can fill out the forms and
pay $585 in order to get the ball moving. Depending on why the immigrant is applying, depends
on whether the court will refer the person to further screening.

The cancellation of removal was the last thing we found that might help a person from
being deported. If the immigrant was a permanent resident for at least five years, then they only
needed to reside in the United States for seven years and have not committed a felony. If the
immigrant wasn't a permanent resident when they fill out the form, they needed to stay in the US
for at least 10 years as well as be a good person. Both need to pay $100.

All the possible solutions to deportation require those who fill out the applications to pay.
Although, the immigration law mandates that these people pay with check or money order
because they want the name of the person responsible if the immigrant does not comply with the
immigration court. It's like if the immigrant needs a cosigner to stay in the United States. If the
immigrant runs, then the cosigner will be put in jail.

These possible solutions were already created to prevent or re-enter a deported person.
Although, many of the people that we surveyed had no idea that these programs existed. We
surveyed 40 people that were mainly Latino. If these people had no idea that these programs
existed, then I assume that millions don't know either. We wanted to inform the public, but we
wanted to teach the youth in a class, so that when a deportation is taking place, they know what
to do. Or if we teach the citizenship process in a simpler way, they could tell someone that's
illegal in their family or their friends that there are ways to prevent deportation and be secured in
the United States.

Arizona's immigration law was our biggest obstacle in this fight for change. This law drives
fear in the hearts of the immigrants. It allows police officers to act as "ICE" officers. The
knowledge of a police officer pulling an immigrant over and that officer being able to drop that
immigrant off at an immigration jail would prevent an immigrant from attempting to apply for
their papers. We want to reroute that knowledge to work in the immigrants' favor. The way that
we thought of to help was to introduce some community collaborators. The Latin Community
Center can provide assistance when a person is under trial by referring the person to many lawful
resources. The Detention Watch Center can make sure that the immigrant is taken care of and
make sure that the immigrants' rights are secured. La Central Civica can provide statistics and
help with relief.

Armando was the name of the owner of La Hacienda that we interviewed. We needed a
person that had been through a very hard time growing up as well as whose family gained
citizenship in the United States during that time. Many immigrants that come to the United States
start from the very bottom or under the same circumstances. When Armando tells of a story
when his mother worked as a seamstress to feed and cloth four young children by herself, we're
setting up a common trend. In order to convince people that citizenship is achievable, we need to
display a success story. During the interview, Armando clears some stereo types within the
Latino Community, like Mexicans are here to sell drugs and cause problems. This was important
to try to convince the nay sayers that our plan is beneficial. It all goes back to the youth. They are
the ones that will tell their parents and their friends about what they can do. Our main goal is to
eliminate any excuse that an immigrant may have that prevents them from gaining citizenship.

Knowledge is the key to our solution. If the youth can't distribute the information out, then
we need more bilingual resources. ESL is a nice way to help those on the path of citizenship or to
further advancement. It will help familiarize the immigrants with the culture and discontinue any
barriers that will prevent them from living like an American.

Fear drives immigrants from becoming citizens. When immigrants have their children here
and someday become deported, it affects the entire Mexican American family. I believe
knowledge will improve the Latino Community. There are programs already set to help
immigrants become citizens; we need to get the word out. We don't need a parent of a child to
get deported; it's bad for the economy and the community. The Arizona Law discriminates and
goes against many people's civil rights. Criminals should be the ones punished. They are the ones
that committed felonies. Although, many agree that coming here illegally is a crime, but if they
are making an honest living, why is there a problem? Deportation is a problem that we pointed
out the possible solutions to, but it will never be solved. In the Chicano Acts in the 1960's, there
were cries for a better situation. Although some of the tension is still there, the attitude changed
with the knowledge of both groups.
Revised
At first, my group didn't know where we wanted to take our presentation about
deportation. We originally thought that we could think up of strategies that would persuade
lawmakers that the procedure which "ICE" picks up immigrants is inhumane. The conditions in
which the prisoners are kept are worst than that of an over crowded prison. ^ We eventually
decided that we should use personal backgrounds as a way to introduce deportation as a societal
injustice, and then work our way to advertise solutions to help immigrants gain citizenship.
* I started our presentation agenda by speaking about my experiences with deportation. I
spoke of when I visited the immigration holding cell in Spanish Fork, Utah. I saw at least 75
inmates through the little window of the door which prisoners are kept behind. I imagined there
were more, but I couldn't see them from my perspective. I saw about 20 beds lined up as if the
cell was a natural disaster safety center where everyone had to sleep two inches away from an
accompanying stranger. I told the class that this visit wasn't a voluntary visit. I went to visit my
stepdad who had been deported three weeks before. The morning that he was arrested, he was in
the backyard repairing the fence. The night before there was a major wind storm that knocked
down the fence. If nothing was done about the fence, then the horses in the field would have
escaped. It was about 10 am when "ICE" knocked on the door. My mom answered. They asked
where my stepdad was; she told them. "ICE" ran into the backyard and tackled him to the
ground. In the United States, law enforcement officers are required to read those in handcuffs
their Miranda rights. In the case of my stepdad, the officers didn't say anything. I thought this
was inhumane, because my stepdad didn't resist. Why was it necessary for "ICE" to tackle him?
There have been many cases like mine and thats what our group wanted to change. The
procedure.
In order for our original intended change to work, we needed footage of the deportation
in action. Societal change wasn't going to be possible unless there was undeniable evidence that
could be given to the public.^ We contacted a clerk at the immigration court in West Valley and
she said that immigration jails and courts don't allow media in their buildings. Since I was the
only one in my group who had experienced the procedure being performed during a pick up and
holding, we felt that my testimony wasn't enough to complete the project. I suggested that we
find others like me. We found many candidates, but some didn't want to say anything that might
cause ICE to come after them, because they were afraid they'll get in trouble with immigration
themselves.

We thought about ways that one can avoid deportation. We didn't want to threaten these
people in any way. ^ It wasn't until we read about dual citizenship in our book, the light bulb lit
up. The people that were able to speak to us had informed us that the citizenship process is
difficult and takes forever. We figured that our new solution should be to outline the citizenship
process in a way that the Latino community wouldn't be intimidated by it. Our project partner
Ericka asked about those who are already in jail. She insisted that we find a solution for them as
well. We began to search the Immigration and Customs Enforcement website to research
immigrants' rights and the deportation process. We found three ways that one can avoid being
deported. One of them is the suspension of deportation.

Suspension of deportation would be considered by a judge as long as the immigrant has
resided in the United States for at least seven years without any crimes. The immigrant needs to
fill out application 240.65 which can be found on the US Government Printing Office website
and pay $280. The court will decide if the applicant is eligible for the suspension of deportation.

If the suspension doesn't work, immigrants can apply for the wavier. Wavier I-212 is an
application that assists those who have already been removed. They can fill out the forms at the
US Citizenship and Immigration Services website and pay $585 in order to get the ball moving.
The court will refer the person to further screening when approved.

The final method in which deportation would be forgiven is the cancellation of removal.
This is only possible if the immigrant was a permanent resident for at least five years, resided in
the United States for seven years and have not committed a felony. If the immigrant wasn't a
permanent resident when they filled out the form, they would have needed to reside in the US for
at least 10 years as well as have been a good person. A good person is measured by the
immigrants service to the community, continued education or hasnt committed a crime. In both
situations the immigrant needs to pay $100.

All the possible solutions to deportation require those who fill out the applications.
Although, the immigration law mandates that these people pay with check or money order,
because they want the name of the person responsible if the immigrant does not comply with the
immigration court. ^The immigrant needs a cosigner to stay in the United States. If the
immigrant runs, then the cosigner will be put in jail.

^Our group surveyed 40 people who were mainly Latino. Many of whom also said that they
haven't heard of these deportation relief programs. If these people had no idea that these
programs existed, then I assume that millions of other people don't know either. From that
conclusion we decided that we wanted to inform the public, but we wanted to start by teaching
the youth in a class. The youth would share the information with their parents and other family
members. The knowledge would serve as a guide to what to do when a deportation is taking
place. Everyone should be able to know their rights in every given situation. The goal is to drive
these people away from fear.

Arizona's immigration law was our biggest obstacle in this fight for change. This law drives
fear in the hearts of the immigrants. It allows police officers to act as "ICE" officers. The
knowledge of a police officer pulling an immigrant over and that officer being able to drop that
immigrant off at an immigration jail would prevent an immigrant from attempting to apply for
their papers. We want to reroute that fear to work in the immigrants' favor. The best way to drive
immigrants away from fear is to introduce them to community supports. The Latin Community
Center can provide assistance when a person is under trial by referring the person to many lawful
resources. The Detention Watch Center can make sure that the immigrant is taken care of and
make sure that the immigrants' rights are being secured. La Central Civica can provide statistics
and help with relief. They also provide ESL classes and copping skills to guide those on the path
of citizenship. These resources are not mentioned when an immigrant is in custody and this is
why we want to teach young people of their options.

^
^
Fear drives immigrants from becoming citizens. When immigrants have their children
here and someday become deported, it affects the entire Mexican American family. I believe
knowledge will improve the Latino Community. There are programs already set to help
immigrants become citizens. We need to get the word out. We don't need a parent of a child to
get deported; it's bad for the economy and the community. The child becomes a ward of the state
and an extra mouth to feed to tax payers. The Arizona Law discriminates and goes against many
people's civil rights. Criminals should be the ones punished. They are the ones that committed
felonies. Many would agree that coming here illegally is a crime. If they are here making an
honest living, how is there a problem? Deportation is a problem that we pointed out possible
solutions to, but it will never be solved. In the Chicano Acts of the 1960's, there were cries for a
better situation. Although some of the tension is still there, the attitude changed with the
knowledge of both groups.

Yellow- revision of sentence clarity
Red- deleted portions
Green- extra information for clarity
Blue- additional sentence structure
*new paragraph