Today. Mr. and Mrs. Arreola and their two eldest children face deportation. The story of the Arreola family is compelling and I believe they merit Congress special consideration for such an extraordinary form of relief as a private bill. The Arreolas are in this uncertain situation in part because of grievous errors committed by their previous counsel. who has since been disbarred. In fact. the attorneys conduct was so egregious that it compelled an immigration judge to write the Executive Office of Immigration Review seeking his disbarment for the disservice he caused his immigration clients. Mr. Arreola has lived in the United States since 1986. He was an agricultural migrant worker in the fields of California for several years. and as such would have been eligible for permanent residence through the Seasonal Agricultural Workers (SAW) program. had he known about it. Mrs. Arreola was living in the United States at the time she became pregnant with her daughter Cindy. but returned to Mexico to give birth so as to avoid any problems with the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Given the length of time that the Arreolas had. and have been. in the United States it is quite likely that they would have qualified for relief from deportation pursuant to the cancellation of removal provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act. but for the conduct of their previous attorney. Perhaps one of the most compelling reasons for permitting the family to remain in the United States is the devastating impact their deportation would have on their childrenthree of whom are U.S. citizensand the other two who have lived in the United States since they were toddlers. For these children. this country is the only country they really know. Nayely. the oldest. is a junior at Fresno Pacific University.
Keywords matched
migrant Naturalization deportation immigration Immigration