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Indian-american Yves Gomes gets rare respite from U.S. Immigration authorities

By SiliconIndia | Wednesday, 18 August 2010, 11:15 Hrs

Washington:In a very major and rare sort of decision, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) cancelled the deportation of the Indian Origin student Yves Gomes. Gomes, 17, had been scheduled to be deported Friday to join his family in Calcutta. His parents had tourist visas when they brought him at 14 months old to visit relatives in Silver Spring in 1994. His parents set about establishing legal residency, but his fathers application for political asylum was denied a few years ago, and the family was ordered to leave the country. The family stayed. However in 2008, Gomess father was deported to his native Bangladesh, and last year his mother was deported to her native India.

The deportation is called off. The young man, who came here as a baby and watched both his parents deported in recent years, can now stay here and pursue his American dream. Gomes is a top student and can now pursue his dream of becoming a doctor.

The case, which has been used by immigrant advocates to publicize the parts of the deportation system they consider most unfair, comes amid a heated national debate about illegal immigration and controversy over how decisions are made over whom to deport.

But for Gomes, who took five Advanced Placement classes in his senior year at Paint Branch High School before graduating in June with a 3.8 grade-point average, it was about something else equally compelling: his future in the only country he has ever known.

"I consider myself an American," Gomes said in an interview witha national daily. Yves has never been to India nor does he speak the language of the West Bengal region where his family is from.

Those who call for stricter restrictions on immigration argue that children who were brought here as infants by illegal immigrants should not be given a free pass into the country.

ICE is deporting record numbers of illegal immigrants. It is hoping to remove about 400,000 this fiscal year, 25 percent more than it did in 2007.As per their report, 51 percent of deportees this year have been convicted of crimes, on top of immigration violations.

However Immigrant advocates complain that too many noncriminal illegal immigrants are being swept up in tougher enforcement strategies. Examples such as Gomes are among the most attractive cases -- good students who would qualify for the DREAM Act that has been introduced in Congress to offer a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants who were brought here as children and who complete high school. According to the Migration Policy Institute, about 825,000 such immigrants would gain legal status if the act became law.

The news was met with surprise and relief in his Silver Spring home.

"I'm really happy. I'm really excited," said Gomes. "I no longer have to look towards that deportation. Now I feel like this is the first step for me to move on with my life and realize my goals." Gomes hopes to become a doctor and make a direct impact in the people's lives

ICE issued a statement to 9News indicating that cases like these point to the need for comprehensive immigration reform.

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