Stand Up for Herta Llusho

I am dedicating today’s post to a 19 year old college student named Herta Llusho. Here is her story:

When Herta Llusho was 11 years old, she and her parents moved to Detroit from their home country of Albania. Herta attended Pierce Middle School and then Grosse Pointe High School where she graduated with a 4.05 GPA. I never met Herta personally, but from hearing her speak, she comes across as an eloquent, ambitious young lady who excels at everything she does. In addition to her outstanding academic record, Herta is committed to volunteering in her community. She has worked at homeless shelters, day camps, and tutoring programs, in addition to being an active member of her church. She also joined her school’s track and cross country teams. Herta just completed her first year at University of Detroit Mercy, and following in her father’s footsteps, is majoring in electrical engineering.

While other teens her age are enjoying the end of summer and busily preparing themselves for their second year of college, Herta Llusho’s life has taken a nightmarish turn. Last month she received a letter from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stating that on August 19, 2009, she and her mother will be deported back to Albania.

Here is a message from Herta taped three days before her scheduled deportation:

I am happy to report that thanks to Herta's family and friends, as well as support from folks at Citizen Orange,  Change.org,  and other thoughtful citizens who petitioned DHS to grant Herta deferred action, the August 19th deportation was postponed!

(On a side note, the goal was to postpone Herta’s deportation at least until the DREAM Act could be voted on. In case you’re not familiar with the DREAM Act, here is Wikipedia’s explanation:

The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act (The "DREAM Act") is a piece of proposed federal legislation that was introduced in the US Senate, and the US House of Representatives on March 26, 2009. This bill would provide certain undocumented immigrant students who graduate from US high schools, are of good moral character, arrived in the US as children, and have been in the country continuously for at least five years prior to the bill's enactment, the opportunity to earn conditional permanent residency. The students will obtain temporary residency for a lapse of six years. Within the six year period, a qualified student must attend college, and earn a two year degree, or serve in the military for two years in order to earn citizenship after the six years period. If student does not comply with either his/her college requirement or military service requirement, temporary residency will be taken away and student will be subjected to deportation.

For more on the DREAM Act, including my own detailed argument for why it should be passed, click here.)

In the meantime, Herta and her family still need your help. She was given an order of supervision, and told to appear at her local DHS office with her mother on November 9th, which means she isn't out of the woods just yet. She can still be detained at any time.

Deporting this educated, talented, and ambitious young woman who is committed to becoming a productive citizen and serving her community would be an utterly senseless act, and would cause more harm than good.

Please join me in signing this petition asking DHS to grant Herta deferred action.