Soldiers Die in Iraq, Family to be Deported, ICE Reveals Cost of Deporting All, and an Immigration Game
âºPfc. Armando Soriano of Houston was killed three years ago when his vehicle rolled off the road in Iraq. Soriano was born in the United States but his father continues to face deportation proceedings despite the government allowing the relatives to apply for green cards according to the Houston Chronicle.
âºSpc. Alex Jimenez disappeared in May when his army convoy was attacked south of Baghdad. However, his Dominican born wife entered the country illegally and was living under threat of deportation until reports of her missing husband led U.S. authorities to give her a green card.
The Washington Post reported that their cases are “unusual but hardly unique” with an estimated 68,000 active duty military personnel being born in foreign countries and 8,000 others enlisting each year, a third of them being Mexican or Central American. The Post also reported that given the 12 million undocumented people in this country “there are numerous instances of some who used phony green cards to enlist.”
âºThe federal government estimated it would cost $94 billion to find, detain and remove all the people living illegally in the United States. According to Julie Myers, head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement said. The amount did not include court costs or the cost of finding the undocumented. CNN reported that the information is likely to add another piece in the debate with those who want the deportation of all the undocumented and those who do not.
âºThe Hashmi Law Firm along with the American Friends Service Committee hosted a life-seized board game created by Ferzana Hasmi called “Finding a Legal Way to Immigrate.” The game was part of a community-building exercise developed to educate the public about the struggles families face when confronting current immigration in a lawful manner.
According to the press release “it will simulate real-life situations that result from broken immigration laws and will be complete with a life-like jail and graveyard. With the Iowa caucuses coming up and immigration being one of the top three concerns for voters, the firm highlighted the need for public education on immigration and the numerous myths that are prevalent.